A major engineering challenge has been accomplished with the installation of the first span of 11 Super T girders on the viaduct of the $1.6 billion Toowoomba Second Range Crossing (TSRC) project.

“This sounds like a normal bridge job, but not when you consider the work is happening on the steep side of the Toowoomba Range and these Super Ts are up to 38m long, weighing up to 90 tonnes each,” Main Roads and Road Safety Minister Mark Bailey said.

“The viaduct is being constructed along the escarpment between Wallens Road at Ballard and the New England Highway, using 5000 tonnes of reinforcement and 26,000 cubic metres of concrete.

“Completion of the first span means viaduct construction can now progress without affecting the rail line and Nexus can move on to pouring the bridge deck that will carry four lanes of traffic.

“In the end, this huge effort will help to reduce the number of heavy vehicles in Toowoomba’s CBD and is the engineering centrepiece of the project.”

The viaduct construction will involve a total of 242 concrete girders in 22 spans at Mount Kynoch, with the construction process alternating between Super T girder installation and concrete pours.

Construction of the bridge deck is expected to take about two years to complete.

The TSRC project is being funded on an 80:20 basis by the Australian and Queensland Governments.