14 September 2003

The crossing of the Elizabeth River Bridge brings the tracklayer closer to the end of the line, with approximately 17 km of track still to be laid.

The construction of the 510 metre bridge, the longest of the 6 major bridges, was structurally completed in December 2002, 6 months ahead of schedule.

The bridge was constructed from pairs of 30 metre long precast prestressed concrete girders manufactured in Darwin, with a reinforced concrete deck slab poured in-situ. The precast 'T-Roff' girders weigh 60 tonne each and were lifted from the road bridge into position using a pair of purpose built steel gantries and hoists.

The tubular steel piles supporting the new rail bridge were driven into the siltstone bed of the estuary, using a large barge mounted pile-driving hammer. All piles are filled with concrete and are linked together with a reinforced concrete headstock, which in turn are linked to the existing road bridge by a steel link beam to share horizontal load support.

To protect the piles against corrosion in the tropical marine environment, they are coated with a special paint and additionally have a "passive sacrificial anode" system of cathodic protection.

See news article on Structural Completion of the Bridge

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Looking towards front of Tracklayer	Tracklayer on Bridge 14 September 2003
Spectators viewing the tracklayer	Looking towards rear of Tracklayer