Design and construction of bridge over the Hunter River near East Maitland

A 350m long bridge has been constructed over the Hunter River near East Maitland as part of Third Hunter River Crossing Project. The bridge consists of 12 spans of Super-T girders with central spans of 30m. The bridge is located in an area that is prone to major flooding and severe erosion conditions. The bridge has been designed and constructed to accommodate the geomorphology of the river which includes an actively eroding 7m high river bank and significant scour around piles. This paper describes the investigations, concept development, detailed design and construction methodology with a particular focus on aspects relating to flood design requirements.