In an ultimate knockdown-rebuild for the Botany Rail Duplication project, the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has dismantled an existing steel single-track rail bridge and constructed a new concrete double-track bridge in just five days, on Robey Street in Mascot.
The Australian Government is fully funding ARTC to deliver the $400 million project, which will deliver better access to global export markets via Port Botany, improve freight supply chains across New South Wales and help reduce the number of trucks on local roads.
The rail line is located in a constrained and high-traffic area, over a major road and situated next to Sydney Domestic Airport, making the challenging works a major achievement.
Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) was utilised to ensure works were completed efficiently and safely. UHPC is extremely durable with a fast curing time.
The bridge works included moving and installing two 36.5-metre-long main bridge girders over Robey Street, weighing 330 tonnes each, during a five-day track closure.
Twenty-four planks were also installed to form the bridge deck using a 600-tonne crawler crane and a 650-tonne mobile crane working simultaneously.
The project will duplicate the remaining 2.9 kilometre section of single line track to Port Botany, and construct a passing loop on the Southern Sydney Freight Line at Cabramatta to accommodate freight trains up to 1,300 metres in length.
