Albert St Bridge
Project Details
Eptec was awarded the refurbishment of Queensland Rail’s Albert Bridge, in Indooroopilly. The project ran from December 2015 until December 2016, primarily under live conditions on an electrified network.
As the prime contractor, Eptec ensured access and coating works ran smoothly. The bridge spans the Brisbane River at Indooroopilly, 220 metres in 2 spans. The spans were totally encapsulated allowing Eptec to abrasive blast and paint the steel structure whilst trains continued to run. The existing coating is lead based and required health and environmental controls to contain the hazardous waste.
Once Eptec commenced blasting of the steel, it was discovered to be in a worse condition than expected. In consultation with the client, the scope was changed to manage the existing coating condition. The coating system was a three coat system plus stripe coating of the tens of thousands of rivets. There were a number of shutdowns and isolations required to allow Eptec access to the rail corridor, and the steel work immediately within the rail corridor.
This was Eptec’s first rail bridge rehabilitation work completed under live conditions in Australia. The innovative use of scaffolding and encapsulation ensured no disruption to the running rail line, paving a precedent for future infrastructure projects. Eptec provided the client with a quality product and an excellent safety performance.
Description of Works
- Encapsulation of bridge areas for a seamless delivery
- Abrasive blasting and painting of steel structures
- Existing paint coating contained traces of lead
- Shutdowns and isolation’s were used to allow Eptec full access