Concrete beams were lifted across one of the busiest roads in Brisbane, Australia, on Thursday as the US$61.4 million Tank Street Bridge started to take shape. The operation involved positioning two beams, each 25m long and weighing 55t.
The bridge will link the cultural precinct with the Law Courts. It will be sculptural in appearance, with a network of steel masts and cabling, which are said to recall the ropes and spars of sailing ships and boats.
Baulderstone Hornibrook Queensland is the contractor and the designer team includes Arup and Cox Rayner Architects.
A competition is under way to come up with a more original name for the bridge. "I encourage entrants to let their imaginations go wild. The bridge at Tank Street has an exciting design and the naming possibilities are endless," said Queensland state premier Anna Bligh.
There will be a full article on this project in the next issue of Bridge design & engineering, to be published in August 2008
