41km
highway
INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Economic growth, social advancement and action against the climate emergency depend largely on investment in infrastructure, sustainable industrial development and technological progress. Today, about 1 billion people live more than 2 km from a roadway, 940 million live without electricity, and 663 million lack improved drinking water sources.
ACCIONA participates in the entire infrastructure construction value chain, from the identification of opportunity, design and execution, to the operation and maintenance of the constructed works, using the most advanced and innovative techniques.
Performance quality and safety are two of the criteria that maximize the company's value proposal in the development of large infrastructure projects and that differentiate it from other competitors in the construction field.
The contract included the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the 41km highway.
The TSRC is one of the central elements of the South West Queensland economic development plan. It is built at the north of Toowoomba and will allow the city to be bypassed on a faster and safer route for freight traffic to the ports and South West Queensland.
One of its most notable features is an 800-metre viaduct above the railway line, and length of 30 metres in the mountain that, by circumventing the alternative option of a tunnel, will allow large vehicles or those transporting dangerous goods to travel.
ACCIONA will participate in the highway's operation and maintenance, in a 25-year concession.
ACCIONA completed design management and specialised technical support for the construction project's implementation.
The work consists of a bypass north of Toowoomba, 42 km long, connecting the "Warrego Highway" in Helidom with the "Gore Highway" in Athol. It is designed for a speed of 110 km/hour, with a maximum gradient of 6.5%.
This new route will have the following characteristics:
- A 4-lane (2+2) stretch, from Warrego Highway (east) to Warrego Highway (west) for 27 km.
- A 2-lane stretch (1+1), from Warrego Highway (west) to Gore Highway for approximately 15 km.
- 5 interchanges.
- 24 structures: 12 bridges and 3 underpasses.
The Toowoomba project won "The best road deal for the Asia Pacific 2015" award from the IJ Global Project Finance and Infrastructure Journal.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Location: Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.
- Contract type: Design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance (PPP).
- Infrastructure: Bypass motorway including 5 interchanges and 24 structures.
- Year of project completion: 2019
KEY ASPECTS
- ACCIONA and our partners recognise the importance of this Toowoomba Second Range Crossing in terms of regional economic development, employment opportunities and supply chain and training and skills development. Benefits for the region of this project include:
- Creation of up to 1,800 full-time jobs during project construction and maintenance.
- Increased economic activity in the region by US 2.4 billion over 30 years.
- Diversion of 80 % of heavy and super heavy commercial vehicles outside the central business district of Toowoomba.
- Avoiding up to 18 sets of traffic lights.
- Reduced travel time across the range by up to 40 minutes for heavy commercial vehicles.
- Higher cargo efficiency.
- Improved road and driver safety.
- Improved habitability for the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley areas.
Key figures
10M
cubic metres of cut earthworks
24
bridges
6
junctions at different levels
500.000
tonnes of tarmac
30
m of deep cutting
40
embankments on the main alignment
42
cut excavations
8.200
meters of viaduct
50
meters of hight
Technology and innovation
semi-integral bridge technique
The viaduct was designed using a semi-integral bridge technique.
This form of bridge design and construction encompasses a direct connection of the bridge pillars to the superstructure, producing an efficient bridge design, with slimmer pillars and longer sections of bridge. This design also reduced the number of bridge bearings and expansion joints required, reducing future maintenance costs.
Choosing the viaduct option over a tunnel greatly reduced the environmental footprint on the escarpment of the range (reduced earthmoving and clean-up). It provides a safer transportation route as large loads and dangerous goods vehicles are kept out of Toowoomba.
Using the most modern and innovative technology, the construction methodology allowed maintenance and improvements to the TSRC construction schedule within agreed upon time constraints, ensuring a secure process for one of the most challenging sections of the project. An innovative solution that advanced the schedule was to complete mid-sized concrete pourings in a continuous pour. This increased production from 25 m per day to 80-100 m per day. This resulted in significantly reduced deadlines, allowing the mid-sized ones to be completed continuously for 10 days instead of the 80 days planned.
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