Modified South Road overpass will be in place by end of year with ‘just two weekend disruptions’

A RADICALLY modified South Road overpass will be in place by the end of the year after a review identified a $1.84 million fix for the trouble-plagued bridge’s wonky bearings.

• Report ‘missed’ what caused South Rd overpass to crumble
• Repairs to South Rd overpass could take a year

A RADICALLY modified South Road overpass will be in place by the end of the year after a review identified a $1.84 million fix for the trouble-plagued bridge’s wonky bearings.

The Government says commuters will face just two weekends of traffic disruption late this year as the walking and cycling path is tied to the tram bridge and new bearings are installed to prevent it from crumbling.

Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan said negotiations with insurance companies for the bridge builder and contactors were underway to foot the considerable repair cost.

“Remedial works on the shared-use bridge are expected to be met through the appropriate contractors’ insurances, so at this stage legal action is not deemed necessary — however, the government retains this option should it become necessary in the future,” Mr Mullighan said.

Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan at the South Road tram overpass.

In its second report into January’s bridge failure, independent reviewer Aurecon recommended replacing the faulty bearings with pot bearings it says will provide “the most long-term certainty” when dealing with wind pressure.

Aurecon said tying the shared walking and cycling path to the tram bridge was the most “visibly unobtrusive” option and minimised traffic disruption.

The overpass’ failure — which caused chaos for traffic and local businesses — prompted a statewide review of South Australia’s 1500 government-managed bridges, culverts and tunnels.

Following inquiries from The Advertiser, Mr Mullighan revealed that just over a tenth of those structures had been successfully reviewed since the review was announced in January.

He said a mixture of Government and external engineers conducted a “detailed visual examination” of each element of a structure which could involve elevated platforms, but did not involve load testing.

“The review of these bridges began at the end of January and is expected to take some months still to complete,” he said.

Opposition acting transport spokesman Corey Wingard criticised the slow progress, saying the Government wasn’t working fast enough to ensure bridge safety.

“Clearly the Government is dragging its feet with their promised bridge testing,” Mr Wingard said.

Mr Mullighan said the process to reach a long-term fix had been “comprehensive and thorough” and bridge builder McConnell Dowell would now start an in-depth design process.

“While we want to reopen this pedestrian and cycling bridge to the public as soon as possible,

it is vital that the design and remediation works ensure a permanent solution which is, above

all, safe,” Mr Mullighan said.

“Now that we have the final concept, work can begin on the detailed design phase, the

procurement of specialist parts as required, and importantly, a rigorous verification process.”

A McConnell Dowell spokeswoman confirmed discussions with its insurance agency were underway and said it and consultant AECOM had worked closely with Mr Mullighan’s department and Aurecon to design the permanent fix.

“The detailed design will be independently and separately verified and approved by engineering consultants WGA and Aurecon before work begins,” the spokeswoman said.