The $342 million new Nowra bridge project continues to edge its way across the Shoalhaven River.
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The new 360 metre long, four lane construction, which will eventually become the northbound bridge, is within sight of the northern shore and remains on track to reach the northern side of the river in mid-2022, weather permitting.
Construction company Fulton Hogan has completed all nine bridge piers and 17 of 19 bridge deck segments have been cast and launched over the Shoalhaven River.
Segment 18 is scheduled to be poured next week, weather permitting.
The steel truss structure, connected to the front of the bridge, known as the launch nose, which is used to reduce weight as the bridge is pushed out, has now extended past the final northern pier.
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Transport for NSW says constructing and launching the final bridge deck segment is a more complicated process and will take longer than the previous segments.
Once all 19 deck segments are complete, the bridge will be pushed into its final resting position.
"Work as part of the final launch also involves removing the launch nose," the spokesperson said.
"Which will be dismantled in three stages."
After this time, further works are required to complete the fit-out of the bridge, including - connecting the deck to the piers by bolting together the permanent bridge bearings; completing construction of the bridge abutment walls; construction of the the bridge safety barriers along each edge of the traffic lanes and pedestrian railings along the new 3.5 metre wide shared path and laying of the asphalt road surface.
The temporary casting yard area and steel moulds, used for construction of the bridge, on the southern bank of the river, will also be removed, while work is well underway on removing the 22,000 tonnes of rocks in the rock platform which allowed access over the water on the western side of the structure.
Then earth fill and pavement layers will be put in place to allow access up to the bridge.
Work is also progressing on the new Bomaderry Creek bridge crossing, which is also part of the project.
All 39 bridge planks on the new Bomaderry Creek bridge have been installed and some of the decks poured.
The next section of the concrete deck slab, on the northbound side of the highway, where the old footpath was removed, will be laid this weekend, leading to some changed traffic conditions in the area.
A section of the northbound Princes Highway between Illaroo Road and Bolong Road will be temporarily closed from 7pm on Saturday (May 7) to carry out concrete pours on Bomaderry Creek bridge.
All highway traffic will be diverted onto the southbound carriageway with one lane in each direction.
This will also move vehicles away from the freshly poured concrete to reduce load and vibrations on the concrete until it gains sufficient strength overnight.
All lanes will re-open at 9am on Sunday, May 8.
During these lane closures, a reduced speed of 40 km/h will be in place, allowing Transport for NSW to create a safe work area while carrying out works on the Bomaderry Creek bridge.
The speed restriction will also remain in place when lanes reopen and will continue to be in place until 7am on Monday, May 9, to further reduce vibration loads on the new concrete.
As well as the new four-lane bridge over the Shoalhaven River, the project also includes upgrades to 1.7 kilometres of the Princes Highway including upgraded intersections and additional lanes.
As the new bridge edges closer to the northern rockface, work has also progressed around the main bridge structure.
The lower structural pavement layers have been laid at the intersection of the Princes Highway and new road Shearwater Way, which will be the new link connecting Lyrebird Drive to the Princes Highway.
The same has been done on the northbound lanes between the northern bridge abutment and Illaroo Road.
Following this, workers will start to place asphalt layers to finish these sections and Shearwater Way is expected to open to traffic in June, weather permitting.
Night work will take place across the site throughout May.
In preparation for upcoming traffic changes, there will be partial lane closures on Bolong Road, of the right turn lanes from the Princes Highway at the intersection over one weekend in late May, weather permitting.
During this work, there will be left turn in and left turn out access at this intersection.
The new bridge will replace the existing 1881 wrought iron whipple truss (southbound) bridge, which is nearing the end of its lifespan.
Nowra bridge project at a glance
We know there are many of you out there who love the statistics around the new $342 million Nowra bridge.
So here are a few more for you to ponder
Piling for all 39 piles is complete. Each pile requires around 45 cubic metres of concrete, equivalent to eight concrete trucks.
All eight pile caps have been installed, with work continuing on the placement of concrete within the last pile cap on the northern side of the river.
All nine bridge piers have been completed.
Each bridge deck segment is approximately 19 to 20 metres in length and requires 360 cubic metres of concrete, equivalent to 60 concrete trucks.
After each segment is poured, the concrete is left to cure and then it is pushed across the river using hydraulic jacks.
During the segment launch, PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene, same as Teflon) coated pads are used to help the bridge slide across each of the piers.
98 per cent of major utility relocations are complete.
All (62 kilometres) telecommunications cables have been relocated and cutover.
Around 1946 people have been inducted on the project.
People on the project have worked over 756,525 hours combined.
An average of 75 workers are on site each day, with a peak of 200 workers on site per day during 2021.