The foundation of the new Seymour-Avenel Rd bridge will be formed with the 56 piles that have been drilled and filled with concrete.
A 130-tonne piling rig completed the drilling of the 56 piles at Seymour Avenel Rd in three weeks.
Each pile is about 15 metres deep and a metre wide and will support the substructure of the bridge, including the pile cap, blade walls and bridge beams.
Once the material are excavated, a steel cage is inserted and roughly 15 cubic metres of concrete is poured.
McConnell Dowell Seymour-Avenel Rd Area Manager Kelvin Kumangai said this is an important milestone for the Seymour Avenel Rd Bridge, and the Inland Rail project as it is the last site on Tranche 1 to complete piling works.
“The focus now shifts to building the bridge structure out of the ground, at a new raised height to provide clearance for double-stacked trains,” he said.
Inland Rail is a nation building project that will transform how goods are moved around Australia, first connecting Beveridge to Parkes, NSW, by 2027 before later connecting from Narromine, NSW, to Ebenezer, Queensland.
In Victoria, work will take place at 12 sites between Beveridge and Albury, to enable double-stacked freight trains to pass safely and ensure everyday products can be delivered faster and more reliably around Australia.
Inland Rail Program Delivery Director B2A Ed Walker said The completion of the underground foundation work marks an important milestone in the delivery of the first four tranche one sites.
“Barnawartha North and Glenrowan sites are almost finished, and Wangaratta and Seymour-Avenel Rd are progressing well,” he said.
“The contract to build the eight remaining Victorian sites will be awarded in June and work will begin next year.”
