Read our most recent news below. For updates on Queensland Motorways please subscribe to our quarterly corporate newsletter, Driven.
Motorists can rest assured that the Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges are strong and designed to be able to withstand significant impact.
The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges are protected against structural impact due to pier protection structures and arrestor islands.
Eighty thousand cubic metres of rock which was placed in the Brisbane River to form construction platforms has been redistributed around the piers of the new and existing Gateway bridges just below the low tide mark to form ship arrestor islands.
The arrestor islands provide a protective barrier that is designed to stop even the largest vessels (a 43 000 tonne cruise liner or a 52 000 tonne tanker) from coming anywhere near the bridge piers.In the unlikely event that a vessel does breach the arrestor island protection, specially formed pre-cast concrete panels, which surround the bases of the new bridge piers, and rock filled cellular structure around the existing upstream bridge piers will absorb the impact and further protect the pier blades.
Pier protection was incorporated into the construction of the original Gateway Bridge and has also been enhanced to accommodate the latest in ship size and design.
The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges have a design life of 300 years.