Aura Brook’s new community bridges provide safe access to conservation areas within Stockland’s...
- Client
- Stockland
- Project Partners
- Perfection Landscapes (principle contractor), Lennon Project Management (project superintendent), and AECOM (landscape architect)
- State
- New South Wales
Three beautiful bridges. One highly-efficient solution.
The Gables is a greenfield community located near Box Hill in Sydney’s north-west. With a sweeping masterplan set amongst rolling hills and creeks, ensuring seamless connectivity for residents was a critical focus for the developer, Stockland.
Having successfully delivered a number of previous bridges at The Gables, as well as a major shade structure for another Stockland development at nearby Elara, FORGE (formerly Fleetwood Urban) was contracted to design, detail and deliver a family of three new multi-span pedestrian bridges ranging from 32–57 metres in length. To do it, we customised and then replicated our popular BALMORAL™ girder bridge system – providing a cost-effective, low maintenance access solution that will serve the community for decades to come.
Our involvement.
As Stockland’s contractor of choice, FORGE was initially engaged through Lennon Project Management to shape the design and documentation for the three bridges, taking them to CC level for council approval. Once approved, FORGE was then contracted under Perfection Landscapes to detail, manufacture and install the bridges. This included creating additional 3D renders in late 2021, with fabrication and final installation happening in late-2023, opening to the public in 2024.
Design Challenge
Ranging from 32 metres to 57 metres in length, the bridges were large structures that necessitated a multi-span design modification to our existing BALMORAL™ girder-based system. Despite differing lengths and locations, it was also essential for the three structures to be unified through a common design language.
Construction Challenge
Calling upon many years of experience in delivering BALMORAL™ pedestrian bridges, the construction and installation stages ran very smoothly. Fabricated and pre-assembled off-site in smaller manageable sections, the main challenge at The Gables was installing the footings and columns for two of the new bridges due to the marshy conditions. Access for the piles required careful planning, as did crane positioning during the installation of the sub-structures.
Innovation
During our pre-construction process, we identified the opportunity to drive major engineering efficiencies for Stockland. Rather than design three completely separate bridges, we instead engineered a single 12-metre span and then replicated this for each structure. Corten panelling was also specified at the ends of each bridge to provide a cost-effective design embellishment.
Features
- 3 x muti-span BALMORAL™ girder pedestrian bridges (32-metres, 42-metres and 57-metres)
- Corten panelling embellishments
- Micaceous Iron Oxide (MIO) anti-corrosion paint system
Materials
- Concrete piers and pile caps
- FRP mini-mesh decking
- Painted steel balustrade
- Corten steel panels
- Rubber gaskets between handrails and saddle plates
- Micaceous Iron Oxide (MIO) paint system
Safety & Risk Considerations
The final design featured a flat-bar childproof balustrade, in keeping with the family nature of The Gables. To maximise structural integrity and Design Life, Rapidstick 8577 Anaerobic Thread Sealant was applied to all handrail fasteners prior fixing while a Micaceous Iron Oxide paint system was also used, offering outstanding corrosion protection to all steel surfaces.
Sustainability Considerations
The three BALMORAL™ bridges were able to be safely designed, engineered and delivered under AS2156, the Walking Track Standard. Requiring fewer raw materials, they have a significantly reduced carbon footprint compared with more traditional pedestrian bridges delivered under AS5100, the Bridge Code.
