Don River rail bridge replacement

13/07/2021

The Don River rail bridge was originally built in 1886, and like others in the area, had been gradually deteriorating because of exposure to a windy saline environment.  

One of the four north west river rail replacement projects, VEC designed and constructed a new 100m, 5 span steel and precast concrete superstructure on existing substructure.  

Old riveted wrought iron beams were replaced with a new precast concrete deck to achieve the target load rating of 300LA and a 60 year design life. Precast elements were made in VEC’s precast yard. 

After months of extensive planning and preparation the actual works occurred over an 84-hour time frame. Work commenced on Wednesday 26 December and was completed on Saturday 29 December 2012 – without incident and 6.5 hours ahead of schedule. 

This project was a winner at the 2013 Tasmanian CCF Earth Awards.