Bridge pieced together over steam fields
MEDIA RELEASE
30 October 2009
East Taupo Arterial (ETA) progress is full steam ahead with the first of 14 welded steel ‘I-girders’ lifted into place over the Contact Energy steam fields.
The longest bridge on the ETA (440 meters) continued to take shape yesterday (Thursday 29 October 2009) as cranes carried out a flawless tandem lift to position the first welded I-girder assembly onto the bridge piers over the Wairakei steam field.
Weighing in at 58 tonnes, the I-girder assembly had to be lifted over 10 metres above one of Contact Energy’s steam pipes.
Project Manager Ron Boyle says that Fulton Hogan will assemble a further 13 I-girders over the coming weeks to be lifted into place, with the highest lift over 24 metres. “It’s a bit like a giant Meccano set. The steel beams are assembled on the ground separately and then very carefully lifted and spliced together span by span.”
“With this particular bridge, the need to work in and around the Contact Energy steam field adds another level of complexity but our contractors have proved themselves up to the challenge so far. All going well we expect the skeleton of the bridge to be assembled over four to five months,” said Mr Boyle.
Culham Engineering from Whangarei carried out the lift using 150 and 250 tonne cranes.
ENDS
The East Taupo Arterial is a 16km highway which will run along the eastern outskirts of Taupo from Wairakei to Taupo Airport and includes a bridge over the Waikato River.
The current total project cost is estimated at $110 million including construction, investigation design and land purchase. Taupo District Council’s cost will be approximately $25.8 million which will be funded by the sale of land it owns and from development contributions.