Construction has wrapped up on our new pre-cast yard, a purpose-built facility in Picton East, that will produce ‘tee-roff’ bridge beams. 

These beams are used in constructing the majority of the bridge structures along BORR. For the project, there will be 154 beams manufactured in total. The beams can be over 40 metres long and weigh up to 200 tonnes each, which is equivalent to an unfuelled 747 jet plane!

In early December, we poured the first two beams, with preparations already beginning for the next two to be poured. These beams are relatively small, at 26.7 metres long and 1.3 metres high. These will be installed at the Raymond Road bridge interchange in early 2023.

The process of producing these beams begins with the production of a steel reinforcement cage (pictured below). The cage is installed into the mould along with the required inserts and cold-water tubes. Concrete is then poured into the mould, which is followed by the ‘hot water curing’ process. This is a complex procedure that involves hydration temperature control to cool the bridge beam to its core, while considering the differential temperature limitations of the concrete. Once complete, the beam is removed from the mould and is taken to the storage yard to continue the curing process. After the beams achieve a ‘28 day strength’, they are ready to be loaded onto a specialised truck and moved to site for installation.
(Completed ‘tee-roff’ beam after being ‘demoulded’)

The facility has been designed so that the beam sizes are customisable based on bridge requirements. There are three possible sizes of cross-section for the beams, which is achieved using three different moulds and adjusting these on the casting bed. To reach the desired length of the beam, ‘stop-ends’ are installed at the ends of the mould.

The purpose-built facility was designed by the South West Gateway Alliance, Australian Precast Solutions, and other sub-consultants and has been constructed in partnership with local Bunbury business, J & P Group.


(Main shed at the pre-cast yard facility)

Check out the video below to see it all in action.