The construction of the three Narrows bridges in Perth
This presentation, celebrating the 60th anniversary in 2019 of the opening of the first Narrows Bridge, will discuss, review and contrast the historical and technical significances of why and how the three bridges were constructed. The presentation will cover learnings: 1. The historical details of how the Narrows Bridges came about 2. The contrast in the construction methods used to build each bridge 3. An appreciation of the highly technical and complex challenges that were met and overcome to construct the bridges.
The Narrows Bridge is a well-known iconic landmark in Perth and provides a vital link in the north-south road and rail transport corridor for the city. However, not many people may realise that the 'bridge' actually consists of three separate bridges, designed and built in completely different eras and with completely different construction techniques. The original Narrows Bridge was built in the 1950s and now forms the main southbound artery of the Kwinana Freeway. It was designed in the UK and became the first prestressed concrete bridge to be built in Australia. While its design and construction methodologies may be regarded as primitive by today's standards, they were cutting edge and state of the art at the time.
The original architectural design was particularly elegant and so advanced that the bridge still looks modern today. A second bridge was conceived in the 1990s to cater for the massive increase in traffic volumes and to carry the northbound traffic. The design and construction techniques used for the second bridge were in stark contrast to those used on the first bridge, yet the final product achieved the design brief of visually matching the original bridge, with only subtle differences, visible only to the trained eye of an engineer. The third bridge, carrying the southbound rail line, was built in between the two road bridges in 2007. For practical reasons, the structure was steel, in response to the significant challenge to construct the bridge in between two operating road bridges.
This presentation will discuss the history of the three bridges, their design and construction methods and contrast their differences according to the eras in which they were built. The presentation marks a celebration of the heritage history, in that 2019 was the 60th anniversary of the opening of the first Narrows Bridge.
Speakers
Gerry is a Civil Engineer with over 45 years experience in the construction industry, having worked on many and varied complex infrastructure projects in various senior management roles in multiple states of Australia. After 9 years in the deep foundation industry, Gerry then spent 25 years with Clough Engineering and 8 years with Leighton Contractors. Gerry retired in 2012 and has since undertaken a number of consultancy roles as well as lecturing final year Civil Engineering students at Curtin University Gerry is currently a member of the Engineering Heritage Committee of WA.
Geoff Robinson recently retired from professional practice after a career spanning 47 years primarily as a structural design engineer. Geoff was an associate with the consulting engineering firm of Connell Wagner, the principal designers for the Narrows Bridge Duplication Project. Geoff's project role was design manager for structures and he played a significant part in the conceptual and detailed design of second Narrows Bridge. Over his career Geoff held senior and executive roles in various organisations and was responsible for the design of a diverse range of building structures, infrastructure projects and structures for the mining and resources sector.
Duncan Robinson has worked in Engineering for over forty years, working for ARC, Arup and ultimately, thirteen years at Clough. Duncan commenced as a site engineer on bridge construction, before going into structural design and then systems/data management on oil and gas projects. Duncan finished full time engineering work in 2015. Throughout his career, Duncan has been involved in teaching, and is currently teaching on a casual basis in higher education.
