| The Alligator Creek rail bridge is located in Yaamba, North of Rockhampton at 674.310km on the North Coast Line. This bridge is currently Queensland Rail Heritage listed due to its Warren equilateral trusses which make up the central portion of the structure. Alligator Creek Bridge is maintenance-intensive, has a higher risk of component failure and unplanned repairs, resulting in speed restrictions which impact on transit times. This results in the potential for network outages for significant periods of time in the event of damage to the structure. Notwithstanding that this bridge is currently being maintained to a fit for purpose condition, the engineering assessment and the option study concluded that the defective piers require replacement to ensure structural integrity and transfer of load to a suitable foundation.
The bridge was constructed in 1911 and is 253 metres long. It originally consisted of 24 spans and 25 piers, however the bridge was upgraded in 1993, eliminating timber piers and Rolled Steel Joist (RSJ) spans and now consists of 18 spans and 19 piers.
In 2018 a bridge inspection confirmed piers 14 and 15 were leaning and a steel propping system was installed to reduce the risk of further leaning. The design of the steel props provided a temporary solution until the piers could be rectified; however, the props only restrain the pier movement along the track to limit the extent of the lean and does not provide restraint in other directions. Piers 5 to 9 are of the same design as piers 14 and 15 and all seven piers show extensive cracking with indication of the cracks opening and moving under load.
Further engineering investigation and assessment was undertaken to determine the current condition of the piers and to provide recommendations on remediation. The assessment concluded all seven piers would require replacement due to an insufficient foundation support, low concrete strength and extensive cracking.
This tender aims to establish a Major Works Contract with a suitably capable and experienced Contractor for the Alligator Creek Bridge Upgrade works ensuring high quality service, achieved deadlines and value for money.
The tender is for “Construct Only” works; detailed design for the bridge upgrade works have been completed.
The Contractor will be responsible for undertaking pier replacement work to bridge piers 5 to 9 inclusive along with piers 14 and 15 (a total of seven of the 19 bridge piers on the Alligator Creek rail bridge). The Contractor will also replace the existing deteriorated timber transoms with 400 sekisui transoms (free issued by Queensland Rail) and the emergency platforms along with the inspection, maintenance and repainting of the steel girders supporting the transoms and rail (i.e. excluding the steel truss structure).
The existing timber transoms are life expired and will be removed from the bridge. Works will include the re-transom of the entire bridge with 400 sekisui transoms installed between spans 4 to 15 (including timber footboards and guardrail).
The design of the pier replacement was developed internally by Queensland Rail’s Structural Engineering team, it is proposed to replace the existing piers (5 to 9 inclusive and 14 and 15) with a concrete twin-piled sub-structure arrangement allowing for piling works to occur between trains and therefore minimising the disruption to the operational railway. The design is based on maintaining a similar aesthetic to the piers installed in 1993, aligning with recommendations from Queensland Rail Heritage.
Refer to 1.3 – Specification & Statement of Work for detailed scope of work descriptions.
Queensland Rail will also be conducting a mandatory site inspection on 28 March 2023, this will commence from The Caves Rest Area.
Details on how to register for site visit is contained within the tender Preamble document.
Tenderers who wish to access the complete package of tender documents and are interested in submitting a response please follow the below instructions:
1. Tenderers are to email the nominated Contact Officer (timothy.goodberg@qr.com.au) to register for access to the tender documents and online response form in the Ariba Sourcing system.
2. If the Tenderer elects to submit a tender response, they must do so by using the Ariba Sourcing system.
3. Tenderers are encouraged to carefully read all documentation available for download in the Ariba Sourcing system to ensure the tender submitted meets all Queensland Rail’s requirements. Queensland Rail will only accept tender responses submitted via the Ariba Sourcing system.
For this tender (QRP-21-168), the information uploaded on QTenders is not all the tender information, however it is intended to assist suppliers / interested tenderers to determine whether the scope of works is suitable for their company profile and capability. All enquiries in relation to this tender must be made in writing to the Contact Officer above.
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