The Ted Smout Memorial Bridge is a road and pedestrian bridge in
Brisbane, Australia
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, the third bridge crossing
Hays Inlet
Hays Inlet is a saltwater inlet off Bramble Bay in Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. The Brisway map reference is 420 L19. A mangrove forest is found in the inlet.
Geography
The slender inlet forms the shape of the south-western Redc ...
in
Bramble Bay
Bramble Bay is an embayment of Moreton Bay in South East Queensland, Australia. The Brisway map reference is 12 H5, or see page 91 G19 in Refidex.
The Houghton Highway, Hornibrook Bridge and Ted Smout Memorial Bridge span Bramble Bay, connectin ...
(the first being the now demolished
Hornibrook Bridge
Hornibrook Bridge is a heritage-listed mostly-demolished road bridge on the Hornibrook Highway over Hays Inlet at Bramble Bay from Brighton, City of Brisbane to Clontarf, Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Manuel ...
). It is located 30 metres to the east of the
Houghton Highway
The Houghton Highway is a reinforced concrete viaduct, the second bridge to be built across Hays Inlet at Bramble Bay connecting the cities of Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia (the first bridge was the Hornibrook Bridge). T ...
(which provides the northbound lanes), providing 3 southbound traffic lanes and a bi-directional pedestrian and bicycle path. It connects the Redcliffe suburb of
Clontarf with the Brisbane suburb of
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
,
and was opened by then Queensland Premier
Anna Bligh
Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is a lobbyist and former Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Labor Party. She was the first woman to hold either position. In 2 ...
on 11 July 2010.
The Ted Smout Memorial Bridge (and the adjacent Houghton bridge) were Australia's second longest bridges until 27 March 2013, when the
Macleay River Bridge opened in
Kempsey,
NSW
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, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
.
The bridge consists of 78 spans, each 35 m long. The cost of the bridge was
A$315 million.
It was built 4 m higher than the Houghton bridge,
in order to improve its resilience to storm surges. It is the first bridge in Australia designed to withstand
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
-type cyclonic events. It is also possibly the only Australian bridge which may have to deal with shallow water storm surge.
The bridge features
* 3 traffic lanes (originally 2 for regular traffic and a T2 (bus, taxi and vehicles with more than 2 occupants) lane, but the T2 lane has now been converted to a regular lane).
* A wide pedestrian and cycle path that connects footpath and cycle networks on either side of Bramble Bay. The path is separated from traffic by a concrete barrier.
* A fishing platform near the
Pine River channel.
The platform measures 10 m by 50 m.
Naming
The bridge is named 'Ted Smout Memorial Bridge' after
Ted Smout
Sergeant Edward David "Ted" Smout OAM (5 January 1898 – 22 June 2004) was an Australian soldier in the First World War. He was Australia's 6th last surviving World War I veteran.
Smout served in the army as a stretcher bearer. He was notably ...
, Queensland's last surviving World War One veteran,
who lived in
Sandgate and died in 2004.
The naming ceremony by
Craig Wallace, the then Queensland Minister for Main Roads, took place on 14 July 2009 as part of Queensland's
150th birthday celebrations. The ceremony also marked the construction of the middle (39th) span of the new bridge.
History
![2010-07-11 Ted Smout Bridge - Clontarf Abutment](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/2010-07-11_Ted_Smout_Bridge_-_Clontarf_Abutment.jpg)
The
Houghton Highway
The Houghton Highway is a reinforced concrete viaduct, the second bridge to be built across Hays Inlet at Bramble Bay connecting the cities of Redcliffe and Brisbane in Queensland, Australia (the first bridge was the Hornibrook Bridge). T ...
bridge was originally built to duplicate the
Hornibrook Bridge
Hornibrook Bridge is a heritage-listed mostly-demolished road bridge on the Hornibrook Highway over Hays Inlet at Bramble Bay from Brighton, City of Brisbane to Clontarf, Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Manuel ...
. However, the refurbishment of the original bridge proved to be uneconomic, and the Houghton bridge was converted to 3 lanes with peak flow lane control. When this reached capacity, another 3 lane bridge was proposed to be built between the Hornibrook and Houghton bridges, at the same height as the latter.
After the original design was finalised, bridges of similar design were extensively damaged by storm surges caused by Hurricane Katrina, and it was necessary to redesign the bridge to be storm-surge resilient, involving raising the deck level by 4 metres. The revised design is distinctly different from the original plan, which was for a similar structure to the Houghton bridge.
Its location was shifted to the east side of the Houghton bridge in order to provide it with some level of storm surge protection
Increases in the cost of construction materials and labour, changes to the scope of the project following technical investigations and community consultation, extra costs associated with the removal of the Hornibrook bridge, as well as design improvements spurred by the events of
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
meant the total cost increased to $315 million, compared with the $149 million estimated in 2004.
The preliminary design went on display in June 2007.
A
falsework
Falsework consists of temporary structures used in construction to support a permanent structure until its construction is sufficiently advanced to support itself. For arches, this is specifically called centering. Falsework includes temporary su ...
platform was used and continually relocated as construction of the bridge segments progressed. Foundation piles were driven up to 39 metres into the sea bed, which were then reinforced with concrete and capped with concrete headstock and girders.
The bridge was then fitted with concrete barriers, guard rails and electrical conduit. The southern and northern
abutment
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
of the bridge included land reclamation works involving a seawall and embankment.
Construction began in April 2008 and the entire duplication works were completed on 19 August 2011.
Milestones
* Late 2005 - Initial community consultation
* 2006 - Options investigation and development of project concepts
* Mid 2007 - Community consultation on project plans
* Late 2007 - Finalisation of project plans and construction tender period
* Early 2009 - Construction works commence at Brighton
* Mid 2008 - Construction works commence at Clontarf Point
* Mid 2008 - Bridge construction works commence
* August 2008 - Bridge reaches middle or 39th span
* December 2009 - Last of the bridge piles and headstocks completed
* 14 January 2010 - Final 82 tonne bridge girder was erected
* 19 January 2010 - Last concrete deck slab was poured
* 11 July 2010 - Official opening, bridge opening celebrations and community day
* 14 July 2010 - Opening of the new bridge to pedestrians and cyclists
* 15 July 2010 - Opening of the new bridge to southbound (Brisbane-bound) traffic
* August 2010 - Commence resurfacing and upgrading of the existing Houghton Highway bridge
* August 2010 - Commence demolition and partial rebuilding of the old
Hornibrook Bridge
Hornibrook Bridge is a heritage-listed mostly-demolished road bridge on the Hornibrook Highway over Hays Inlet at Bramble Bay from Brighton, City of Brisbane to Clontarf, Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Manuel ...
* August 2011 - All project works completed
See also
*
Road transport in Brisbane
The road transport in Brisbane, Australia, consists of a network of highways, freeways and motorways. Some motorways have Road pricing, tolls applied.
Brisbane is a car dependent city. In 2006, within the South East Queensland region, 83% of ...
References
External links
Houghton Highway Duplication Project{Dead link, date=June 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=no at th
Queensland Department of Main Roads* Naming Australia's Longest Bridge
Naming Australia's Longest Bridge* Facts and pictures of the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge
*
Bridges in Brisbane
Road bridges in Queensland
Bridges completed in 2010
Girder bridges
Viaducts in Australia
Concrete bridges in Australia
Highways in Australia
2010 establishments in Australia