Sydney Metro North West rail link to fast track replacement for damaged Skytrain span

WORK on the Skytrain section of the Sydney Metro Northwest has not been affected despite one of the spans suffering damaged while being fitted.

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WORK on the Skytrain section of the Sydney Metro Northwest has not been affected despite one of the spans being damaged while being fitted, Transport NSW has confirmed.

The affected part was discovered by alert reader Tim Surendonk, who has been keenly following the construction of the overhead bridge on Windsor Rd.

Mr Surendonk told the Rouse Hill Times he was worried of a possible accident if this was not fixed and said he had been warned off by a security guard while taking pictures of the damaged structure.

The Skytrain span showing the section which has been damaged. Picture: Peter Kelly

Pictures show signs of a crack at one section of the Skytrain at the intersection of Windsor and Old Windsor roads and a section of the bridge being lifted.

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman confirmed one of the 121 Skytrain spans had been damaged but added it was being replaced.

Workers placing a new part into place at another section of the Sktrain. Picture: Peter Kelly

“One of the 121 Skytrain spans was damaged during construction, with preparations under way for it to be replaced,” the spokeswoman said.

“The damage followed tightening of the internal cables on this span as part of the construction process.

“Transport for NSW will work with Skytrain builder Salini Impregilo as repair work begins.”

Workers at the Sydney Metro North West rail link construction site on Windsor Rd, Kellyville.

The spokeswoman said to date, 94 out of 121 spans have been completed.

“Sydney Metro Northwest remains on schedule to open in the first half of 2019,” she said.

Two giant horizontal cranes — each 150 metres long and weighing 600 tonnes — are building the Skytrain. The cranes sit above the Skytrain piers and pull up each concrete precast segment which makes up the Skytrain deck, aligning them into their final position.

Skytrain span damaged during fitting on Windsor Rd, Kellyville. Picture: Peter Kelly

Once they are aligned and attached, steel cables are inserted through and tensioned, giving strength to the structure.

The gantries are lifting more than 1200 concrete segments into the air, joining them together to form the deck of the 4km Skytrain.

The Skytrain over Windsor Rd is held together by 1400km of steel cables, with these black pipes carrying about 37,000 high tension cables. Picture: Sydney Metro

According to Mr Surendonk, a scientist and mathematician, the damage raises questions on the work being done.

“There are a lot of questions this raises about the quality of the work being done on the Skytrain,” Mr Surendonk said.

“Are they waiting long enough for cure times? Are they pushing ahead with sections that should instead be replaced?

Alert reader Timothy Surendonk took this image of the uneven connection between these spans on the Skytrain.

“I am not an engineer so I don’t know, I am just quite concerned that the order in which things are being done on the site doesn’t seem right, and now we have this failure.

“I am worried that if the concrete structure (on the Skytrain) is not straight, we could have a terrible accident when trains finally run.”

The Salini Impregilo joint venture was awarded a $340 million contract in December 2013 to build the Skytrain between Bella Vista and Rouse Hill, including a 270-metre cable-stayed bridge over Windsor Rd at Rouse Hill.