Transport

Bruce Highway - Deception Bay Road Interchange Upgrade

Location
Burpengary, QLD
Client
Department of Transport and Main Roads
Status
Complete
Aerial progress image of the Bruce Highway, Deception Bay Road interchange upgrade works during construction, looking north

About the project

BMD Constructions was engaged by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to replace the old, two-lane Deception Bay Road overpass with two larger, wider bridges to accommodate six lanes of traffic over the Bruce Highway.

It also involved the widening of the bridge approach and departure roads as well as reconfiguring all ramps.

The project required extensive traffic management, staging, temporary works, collaborative community engagement, earthworks, bridge building, ITS, electrical and roadworks.

A 24-hour roster was implemented, resulting in fast-tracked construction, minimal impact on motorists, and limited disruptions to local residents and businesses.

The team was able to overcome supply constraints, adverse weather and poor ground conditions to open all interchanges and ramps in under three years.

The project was delivered as part of the Bruce Highway Upgrade Program to improve safety, ease congestion, and cater for future traffic growth in the Moreton Bay region.

Scope

Construction of two new, wider parallel bridges on Deception Bay Road, over the Bruce Highway

Upgrading two signalised intersections on Deception Bay Road

Increasing the length and capacity of existing entry and exit ramps by constructing new loop ramp configuration

Providing active transport facilities for pedestrian and cyclists -including a pedestrian bridge and underpass to increase safe connectivity across the Bruce Highway

Construction of a new, three-span bridge over Little Burpengary Creek for the northbound entry ramp to Bruce Highway

Installing intelligent transport systems including ramp monitoring

Construction of a new heavy vehicle interception site closer to the interchange

Major transverse drainage structures and bio-retention basins

Resurfacing and line marking on the Bruce Highway

Outcomes

Creation of two new parallel bridges more than 110 metres long

75,000 tonnes of asphalt laid

82 bridge beams installed

50 kilometres of cabling connected

296 light and traffic signal poles installed

Created 270 jobs throughout construction

Planted 8,176 grasses, sedges, and trees along Little Burpengary Creek

95% local workforce and more than 52,000 training hours, including 31,000 hours by new industry entrants

$122 million of contract works awarded to local subcontractors and suppliers

Innovations

The project trialled and actioned some unique initiatives, including the following.

Blindsight AI vision technology trial - BMD installed four Blindsight systems on graders, water trucks, rubber tyred excavators, and posi-track loaders to detect, alert, and inform site teams of high-risk people-plant interactions and provide real-time operator alerts, data for daily reporting, and safety benchmarks. Detections were available in the cloud 24/7, providing regular data to continuously adjust and improve processes. This technology has been rolled out across a number of BMD projects.

Little Burpengary Creek flood mitigation works included a 50-metre creek bank widening, channel excavation, and revegetation works within a Department of Agriculture and Resources mapped waterway. Revegetation works included laying approximately 1,866 square metres of jute matting and planting 8,176 plants (grass, sedges, and trees). Being a waterway, it is also a sensitive cultural heritage area which required monitoring during the works.

Seven progressive erosion and sediment control plans were created, with some revised up to 15 times to adapt to changing traffic and construction staging.

Piling contractor, Keller Group installed a fully solar-powered crib room powered by two 250w solar panels, a 1500kv inverter and two 200amp batteries. Realising the benefits of solar-enabled – IE lower running costs and more reliability for electricity in the semi-rural area.

Real-time Bluetooth monitoring was used to record travel times through the construction works on both the Bruce Highway and local roads.