Brisbane City Council awarded the contract to design and build the bridge to Connect Brisbane, a consortium led by Besix Watpac, in June 2021.
At 460 metres, the bridge will be among the longest-span cable stayed pedestrian bridges in the world.
Marr Contracting was brought on board at an early stage in the design process to develop a lifting strategy that supported Connect Brisbane’s preferred method of construction.
One of the biggest challenges was to find a method for constructing the 83-metre-tall bridge mast while minimising potential impact on the public ferries and private vessels that use the Brisbane River daily.
Working with Brisbane-based engineer, Robert Bird Group, Marr developed a lifting proposal based on an M2480D heavy lift luffing tower crane with a 64-metre-long boom installed on a platform in the middle of the Brisbane River.
Marr’s scope of work will include more than 10 major lifts and general construction lifting requirements over a period of 12 months. Marr’s M2480D arrived onsite in January, has been erected and commissioned, and completed its first lift – a working platform measuring 25 metres x 25 metres.
The heaviest lift the tower crane will undertake for the project is 180 tonnes and will be the 28-metre-tall prefabricated steel masthead.
Tim Deere, project director for Besix Watpac, said: “Our in-house engineering team was instrumental in identifying this crane at tender phase as the preferred lifting solution for the project. After comparing barge crane and tower crane options, the team confirmed the M2480D was the most suitable crane in the Australian market capable of lifting the fully assembled mast head.”
Connect Brisbane consists of bridge design, engineering and construction specialists including Rizzani de Eccher, WSP, Dissing & Weitling, Blight Rayner, Aspect Studios, Right Angle Studios and Rowland.
Construction of the Kangaroo Point Green bridge started in late 2021 and is scheduled for completion in 2024.
Video footage of the crane’s erection – complete with melodramatic music – can be viewed here
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