One more post about wonderful Melbourne π
The last day of IABMAS 2018 brought me a very nice surprise! π
It was a tour-day and the closure of the conference. Each participant could have subscribed to one of three tours. Two of them were dedicated to universities visits and the third one attracted my attention the most:
Though, at the moment of registration, I noticed that personal boots and hard hats were required for any bridge visit. It was quite a sad news as my luggage was very limited (bringing all the staff from my flat in Copenhagen back to Paris via Australia), so, I abandoned the idea of visiting the West Gate and subscribed for a university tour.
Friday morning, while having breakfast, I am reading again the tour description and suddenly find that it starts 15 minutes earlier than other tours, which means that I am going to be late! After a couple of calls, I realize that I have to run immediately in order to catch my bus! So I do. And... I have missed it. The very last moment, I see the bus leaving... a responsible girl from IABMAS is suggesting to catch it at the street light π¦ but too late...
So, there are still two other buses and the girl who feels sorry for me missing my tour, so, she asks what tour I would choose instead - ? with increasing hope I say "West Gate Bridge but I don't have any equipment", so, she makes a call and at the very last moment they confirm that I can go and be provided with some boots, a jacket, and a hat! Such a great news! So, with a happy smile and in a perfect mood I jump onto the bus to make this amazing visit.
The West Gate Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Yarra River on the west side of Melbourne.
The total length of the bridge is 2,582.6 m with the main river span of 336 m and the height above the water is 58 m.
The last day of IABMAS 2018 brought me a very nice surprise! π
It was a tour-day and the closure of the conference. Each participant could have subscribed to one of three tours. Two of them were dedicated to universities visits and the third one attracted my attention the most:
- exploring the inside part of the deck of the famous West Gate bridge!
Though, at the moment of registration, I noticed that personal boots and hard hats were required for any bridge visit. It was quite a sad news as my luggage was very limited (bringing all the staff from my flat in Copenhagen back to Paris via Australia), so, I abandoned the idea of visiting the West Gate and subscribed for a university tour.
Friday morning, while having breakfast, I am reading again the tour description and suddenly find that it starts 15 minutes earlier than other tours, which means that I am going to be late! After a couple of calls, I realize that I have to run immediately in order to catch my bus! So I do. And... I have missed it. The very last moment, I see the bus leaving... a responsible girl from IABMAS is suggesting to catch it at the street light π¦ but too late...
So, there are still two other buses and the girl who feels sorry for me missing my tour, so, she asks what tour I would choose instead - ? with increasing hope I say "West Gate Bridge but I don't have any equipment", so, she makes a call and at the very last moment they confirm that I can go and be provided with some boots, a jacket, and a hat! Such a great news! So, with a happy smile and in a perfect mood I jump onto the bus to make this amazing visit.
And here is the bridge right in the middle of the deck!
The total length of the bridge is 2,582.6 m with the main river span of 336 m and the height above the water is 58 m.
The deck consists of two parts - steel orthotropic and reinforced concrete. We visited both of them but the object is private, so, unfortunately, no photos.
15 October 1970, the 112 m span collapsed and fell from 50 m height taking 35 lives...
The reconstruction was completed in 1978.
The bridge is a vital part of the infrastructure of the area, so, the amount of traffic passing this bridge is increasing with time. By summer 2011, the bridge was expanded from 4 to 5 lanes each direction.
" The work was extremely challenging, not least because of the logistics of keeping the motorway open and the traffic flowing at all times, getting men and materials inside the bridge to carry out the work safely "
[ I. Firth, COWI, London,
© 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-1-138-73045-8 ]
Another thing this bridge is famous for is - suicide.
Good news π Expensive barriers have been reported to reduce suicide rates on the Westgate by 85%
[ Herald Sun, 2011 ]
Many Thanks to IABMAS and VicRoads
for this chance
and to all participants
for the nice company!
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