Naughtons Gap Bridge, Casino

The Challenge:

At Naughtons Gap near Casino, Hanlons provided bridge construction survey support and property boundary re-definition for John Holland Country Regional Network along the Casino to Murwillumbah railway. 

There was confusion about the actual location of the property boundary lines either side of the new road alignment. The alignment appeared to run through private property because the existing fence lines were erected near the old road instead of being on the property line. The neighbours were adamant the fence locations were correct.

The project manager wanted a resolution and asked Hanlons to re-establish the boundaries and marked them on the ground.
 

The Solution:

Hanlons began the project by locating fencing, rail track, and reference marks. Two of our surveyors searched titles, gazettal notices and historical rail and survey plans in the planning stage of the project, which allowed our team to re-establish the property boundary. We managed to provide a definitive boundary refix, which the property owner wasn’t happy with as he thought he owned the fence. A local survey did however confirm our fix so this issue was eventually resolved.

This led to our Hanlons surveying team setting out bridge footings, portal walls, deck heights, steel mesh, road alignment and retaining walls. Hanlons had to ensure the required clearance between the track and the bridge underdeck was maintained. Our surveyors utilised a  Leica MS50 robotic total station and magnet survey software to conduct this project.

A few hurdles had to be overcome throughout the project. We had to manage a busy road using traffic control and had to establish additional control marks to enhance safety. Rain during the bridge footing set-out meant we were standing and working in knee-high water during the setout survey with hopes that the pump-out would exceed the stormwater inflow. Our surveyors also managed to identify design height conflicts early on and resolved them to ensure workflow was not interrupted. 

Over the course of eleven months, the project succeeded despite conflict in the bridge design drawings, continuous road traffic, confusing boundaries and the external stress from members of the public. Our extensive knowledge in rail and bridge construction, coupled with our capacity enabled us to deliver this project as efficiently as possible for our client.