Animations

Incrementally launched bridge animation

The following animation shows the innovative process used to construct the wetland and Karuah River bridges. Prior to constructing the superstructure (top part) of the bridge, there are three stages that were constructed first. These were: piling down to bedrock, concrete caps to the top of the piles, and thirdly, concrete columns that will eventually support the superstructure.

The superstructure was cast in segments on the mainland (left side of the wetland) and launched out on a weekly cycle. This cycle was repeated for 36 weeks until the bridge was 800m long. The bridge was then severed into two separate bridges, one 200m long, the other 600m long. The 600m bridge was then launched clear of the island to sit over the Karuah River. A standard road pavement ways constructed on the island to link the two bridges.

Click here to view bridge animation

Time-lapse photography

To capture such an innovative construction technique, two pole-mounted cameras were set up that took photographs continually throughout the construction period. The digital cameras took images every 15 minutes, which results in thousands of images. The photos were then combined using the latest technology to form a time-lapse video sequence.

Timelapse 1 shows the progress as recorded by the first camera that was mounted overlooking the casting bay on the western shore just before the wetland. The casting area is the ‘nerve-centre’ of the bridge operation. This is where the superstructure was built and launched from. Two bridges were constructed side by side. The twin bridges were joined together once they were launched into their final positions.

Click here to view time-lapse one animation

Timelapse 2 shows the progress as recorded by the second camera that was mounted on the eastern shore of the Karuah River. This is the side where the bridges arrived after being launched from the west. This view shows the piling, pile caps, and column construction. Towards the end of these activities, the superstructures of the twin bridges are seen moving towards the camera from the rear of the image.

Click here to view time-lapse one animation