Skip to main content

GRAA focuses on winning project profile: Brisbane Airport Link, Northern Busway & Airport

The revolutionary AUD$4.8 billion Airport Link has delivered a landmark infrastructure project for Australia, tackling traffic congestion, enhancing the busway network and removing an infamous traffic bottleneck through an innovative and inspired design. The Airport Link in Brisbane, Australia included three separate projects – the Northern Busway (a 3km two-way dedicated busway), the Airport Roundabout Upgrade and the AirportlinkM7 (a 6.7km toll road including 5.2km of tunnel). Together, they represent the
May 19, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
Parsons Brinckerhoff and Arup joint venture won the 2013 GRAA for Design
RSSThe revolutionary AUD$4.8 billion Airport Link has delivered a landmark infrastructure project for Australia, tackling traffic congestion, enhancing the busway network and removing an infamous traffic bottleneck through an innovative and inspired design.

The Airport Link in Brisbane, Australia included three separate projects – the Northern Busway (a 3km two-way dedicated busway), the Airport Roundabout Upgrade and the AirportlinkM7 (a 6.7km toll road including 5.2km of tunnel). Together, they represent the largest single investment in transport infrastructure ever undertaken in Australia. The project was delivered by the 2642 Thiess 4755 John Holland (TJH) joint venture with 2693 Parsons Brinckerhoff and 1419 Arup joint venture as the lead design partner, for the Queensland Government-appointed 2641 BrisConnections.

Parsons Brinckerhoff and Arup joined forces – as PBA – to provide technical input into the tender and to deliver the detailed design and construction phase services support. PBA engaged more than 1,000 staff, who worked more than one million hours from start-up in 2006 through to completion in July 2012. During that time PBA delivered more than 18,000 ‘for construction’ drawings in 600 packages with a Total of 3,600 submission cycles.

Aside from 15km of tunnel, the scheme boasts 25 bridges, 15 cut and cover structures, 8.5km of roadway, bicycle paths, 3.5ha of new parklands, more than one million new plants, three ventilation stations, and an operations control building.

The scale and complexity of the project, along with very tight constraints imposed by a highly-populated environment and the need to keep roads open, presented a formidable design challenge. These challenges required a range of technical innovations including underground road interchanges in caverns, the largest of which was 28m wide, and an innovative multilevel flyover with a fast-diamond interchange.

PBA’s scope of works included tunnel, road, geotechnical, electrical and mechanical, fire and life safety, structural and civil works design, as well as coordinating the urban design via subcontracted resources.

2014 GRAA Applications
The Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) is a one-of-a-kind competition to recognise innovative road projects and exemplary people that place the road industry at the forefront of worldwide social and economic development.
ENTRIES SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JUNE 30, 2014. More information at: www.irfnews.org/graa


For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Major upgrade for important Queensland interchange
    February 3, 2014
    Parsons Brinckerhoff and Seymour Whyte are working on a joint venture partnership contract for the Smith Street Motorway and Olsen Avenue Interchange upgrade in Queensland. The design and construct contract relates to the upgrade of the critical link between the new Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct and the Pacific Motorway. The project is worth in excess of US$44 million (A$50 million) and was awarded by the Department of Transport and Main Roads. Smith Street Motorway links the Pacific Motorway (M
  • Zhejiang Jiashao Bridge Investment & Development Co
    April 6, 2017
    Located in Zhejiang Province of China, Jiashao Bridge spans the Qiantang River and connects the cities of Jiaxing and Shaoxing. The total length of the bridge project is 10.14km and carries an eight-lane expressway The Qiantang River suffers from a high flow rate of up to 7.5m/s. As the tidal range is around 7-9m, the water depth is less than 2m in time of low level tide, so ships can only move at high tide and large scale ship-lifting equipment cannot be used downstream of Jiashao Bridge. However, to
  • Melbourne link: Hyder and Parsons Brinckerhoff to be design team
    October 22, 2014
    Hyder and Parsons Brinckerhoff have been appointed as the design team for the US$5.97 billion East West Link in Melbourne, Australia. The two engineering and management consultancies are in a 50/50 joint venture to provide detailed design and construction support services for the 6.6km Stage 1 work, which is the eastern section, of the project. Together with the proposed western section, the completed East West Link will cost around $7 billion. The toll road will form an 18km cross-city connection ext
  • Tunnel waterproofing solutions
    February 29, 2012
    Tunnels are the highest value assets on a highway, making their operation, safety and maintenance of paramount importance. Patrick Smith reports