An abseiling team has provided a high-flying solution to help the Bridge Inn Road upgrade work.
The trio helped complete repairs under the historic bluestone bridge over Plenty River, which is being repurposed into a dedicated path for pedestrians and cyclists as part of the upgrade.
The abseiling crew spent a week repairing the bridge’s piers and crossheads with support from three project team members.
Completing the vital works this way prevented the need to build a complex scaffold system across the bridge’s four spans, in turn saving time, avoiding overhead powerlines and the need to work within the Plenty River.
These works are the first major repairs to take place under the bluestone bridge since 1975 and will ensure that it is able to operate as a shared walking and cycling path for years to come.
The repurposed bridge will link with other shared walking and cycling paths to provide better connections for active transport in the area.
The upgrade has built a new four-lane bridge for vehicles, with one lane each way opening last year. The rest of the lanes are set to open this year.
The bridge works complement the upgrade’s construction of extra lanes in both directions between Plenty and Yan Yean roads.
The project is also building sections of shared path and upgrading key intersections between Mernda and Doreen.
Major Road Projects program director Dipal Sorathia said the abseilers helped make the works a lot easier.
“Using abseilers to complete repairs under the bluestone bridge was a smart solution to the unique challenges presented by the location of the bridge. It saved time while allowing our crews to work safely,” he said.
“With these repair works now complete, pedestrians and cyclists can look forward to safe and reliable travel over the bridge once we have finished repurposing it as a shared path as part of the Bridge Inn Road Upgrade.”
