The upgrade of Blakey’s Crossing at Townsville was completed last November with the new flood-proofed road now carrying traffic.
This upgrade will ensure Ingham Road at Blakey’s Crossing will no longer close during summer floods – the work realigned and raised about 800 metres of road and included two new bridges.
Townsville City Council Infrastructure Chair, Trevor Roberts, said the council’s project management team and contractor, BMD Constructions, had delivered an accelerated construction program to have the crossing open ahead of the original February 2015 deadline.
“Our key objective was to get the crossing open to motorists before the onset of the wet season and the project team has done a fantastic job to get it over the line,” Cr Roberts said.
“The decision to close the crossing to all traffic back in April (2014) enabled crews to build the bridges and embankment with fewer disruptions and get the job done sooner for the local community.”
The project had been expected to cost $24 million, but careful management enabled $5 million of savings to be made.
Project statistics
• The project provided around 350 jobs over the duration of the work.
• Its total length is 1050 metres, plus intersection work and the service road at the Duckworth Street end.
• Approximately 75,000 tonnes of material was imported and used in the construction of embankments.
• Two bridges were constructed; the three-span, 60 metre bridge over Peewee Creek and the seven-span, 140 metre long bridge over Louisa Creek.
• A total of 80 piles were driven for the two bridges at depths of 20-25 metres.
• A total of 170, 15-20 tonne concrete deck units were used for the two bridges.