Surbana Jurong pulls off civil engineering achievement with move of Darlington bridge in Australia

civil engineering achievement Darlington bridge Australia
The bridge in Darlington, Adelaide, was constructed offsite and transported down the highway and fitted into place.

It may look like any other highway but the Darlington bridge in Australia has just gone down in history as a great achievement in civil engineering. The Darlington Upgrade Project, which forms a major part of Adelaide’s North-South Corridor, comprises the upgrade of 3.3km of Main South Road. It includes a non-stop motorway between the Southern Expressway and Tonsley Boulevard requiring grade separations at five intersections.

In November, a key milestone in the project was delivered with the move of Bridge 2 from its construction compound to its final position over the Southern Expressway entrance. Essentially, the project team manufactured a 3,200-ton, 180m-long bridge in a compound adjacent to the site, then moved it 500m into position using SPMT equipment, which are designed for transporting massive structures. This was done with relatively little disruption to what is Adelaide’s busiest motorway.

SMEC, a member of the Surbana Jurong Group, is part of the Gateway South Consortium – comprising the Design Joint Venture (SMEC, Jacobs and KBR) and Construction Joint Venture (Fulton Hogan and Laing O’Rourke) – engaged to design and construct the Darlington Upgrade Project.

Surbana Jurong to design and build new fresh food distribution centre for NTUC

NTUC food distribution centre
Mr Seah Kian Peng, CEO of NTUC Co-operative Ltd, and Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group CEO of SJ, signed the contract to appoint SJ to provide consultancy services for a new fresh food distribution centre

Surbana Jurong (SJ) has been appointed by NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd (NTUC), the largest supermarket chain in Singapore, to provide multi-disciplinary consultancy services for a new fresh food distribution centre.

The 2.8ha development will consist of a 40-m-high Automatic Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS), multi-temperature cold-rooms, ancillary office and facilities. It will be used as a distribution centre for the receiving, sorting, storage and distribution of fresh food for NTUC. The scope of works includes architecture, civil and structural engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, and quantity surveying.

“In this project, we will be taking special care to ensure that the cold-rooms are designed to handle condensation, as well as meet cold chain and fire safety requirements,” said Michael Vong, Project Director and Deputy Managing Director, Building Consultancy Services (Urban Development 1). “We have assembled a team who recently completed the JTC Foodhub project and will be tapping on their experience to deliver this project successfully.” The project is targeted for completion in early 2021.