MARR CONTRACTING AWARDED HEAVY LIFTING CONTRACT ON BRISBANE’S KANGAROO POINT GREEN BRIDGE

Marr Contracting has been awarded the subcontract to deliver specialised heavy lifting crane services on the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge.

At 460 metres long, the bridge will be among the longest span cable stay pedestrian bridge in the world and a must-visit destination in Brisbane.

Following a detailed procurement process, Brisbane City Council awarded the contract to design and construct the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge to Connect Brisbane, led by BESIX Watpac, in June 2021.

Connect Brisbane includes bridge design, engineering and construction specialists including Rizzani de Eccher, WSP, Dissing + Weitling, Blight Rayner, Aspect Studios, Right Angle Studios and Rowland.

With experience spanning global and local projects, Marr was engaged by Connect Brisbane early in the design phase to develop a lifting strategy that supported their preferred construction methodology.

According to BESIX Watpac Project Director, Tim Deere, “Our in-house engineering team was instrumental in identifying this crane at tender phase as the preferred lifting solution for the project.

“After comparing barge crane and tower crane options, the team confirmed the M2480D was the most suitable crane in the Australian market capable of lifting the fully assembled mast head,” Deere says.

Marr’s experience working on the construction of the 318-metre towers on Turkey’s 1915Çanakkale Bridge, Perth’s signature Matagarup Bridge, and Dubai’s landmark Water Canal Bridges has provided Connect Brisbane with a frame of reference for addressing the challenges of constructing the 83-metre-tall mast of the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge.

Located in Brisbane’s busy river, the key challenge was how to construct the bridge mast while minimising potential impacts on the public ferries and private vessels that use the Brisbane River daily.

Working with Marr’s Brisbane-based engineers, Robert Bird Group, Marr developed a solution using an M2480D

Heavy Lift Luffing (HLL) tower crane with a 64-metre-long boom installed on a platform in the middle of Brisbane River.

The heaviest lift the tower crane will undertake for the project is 180 tonnes and will be the 28-metre-tall pre-fabricated steel masthead.

“Reaping the benefits of modularised construction with fewer, heavy lifts is not only helping to deliver a safer, more productive site; but also allowing our client to share the economic benefit delivered by the project by engaging more South East Queensland businesses away from the workfront,” said Marr’s Managing Director, Simon Marr.

Marr’s scope of work will include more than 10 major lifts and general construction lifting requirements over a period of 12 months.

“Marr’s M2480D arrived onsite in January, has been erected and commissioned, and completed its first lift – a 25 metre by 25-metre-wide working platform.

Construction of the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge started in late 2021 and is anticipated to be completed in 2024.