Duck & Emigrant Creek Bridges
These two bridges were located adjacent to one another and situated within sensitive aquatic ecosystems some six kilometres South of Ballina NSW. Prior to awarding of the contract in June 2017 the local population and Fisheries Dept of NSW were involved in settling on stringent requirements to deconstruct the bridges with minimal disruption to the surrounding environment as possible. Local businesses including nearby oyster farming concerns were also involved and so containment and effective removal of all waste material was a key outcome for all stakeholders.
Southern Cross Demolition was awarded the demolition of the bridges due to its extensive history of caring for the environment and its innovative methods of how the demolition was to be achieved. As part of the process dive inspections discovered significant debris on the riverbeds which were detrimental to navigation and the environment alike. During the pile cutting process, Southern Cross also cleaned up the riverbed to where the end result was a cleaner and healthier environment for all concerned. A difficult situation arose during the project where additional piles not recorded on the as built drawings of one of the bridges were discovered and the majority of the piles were raker and not vertical as shown on the plans. The difficulty posed by this was spacing of the piles was reduced by the extra number of piles and that most of the piles were now on an angle and not straight. Southern Cross required emergency modifications to be made to our pile cutting jig to ensure that the project remained on target.
Southern Cross used its unique methods of marine demolition and its fleet of barges and specialised equipment to achieve these notable achievements and the project was carried out safely without incident. Southern Cross received recognition from the principal contractor, Georgiou Group, Pacific Complete (Head contractor) and the owner being RMS NSW. All safety audits conducted onsite were passed with commendations being received.
