Alfred Street Bridge

NSW
City of Parramatta
2021 - 2023

Abergeldie recently delivered the Alfred Street Bridge, a new pedestrian and cyclist bridge over the Parramatta River between James Ruse Drive and the Gasworks Bridge for City of Parramatta. It is the first true diagonal arch bridge in Australia, providing a striking architectural feature in the Parramatta CBD. The project is a key element within a network of planned pedestrian and cyclist improvements and follows on from our successful delivery of the Parramatta Escarpment Boardwalk.

Scope of works

The works included:

  • A new pedestrian and cycle bridgeway, with a clear centre span of 82m and approach ramps to the north and south and clear width of 4.5m.
  • Site clearing and grubbing.
  • Constructability and design completion from 90-95% design.
  • Delivery of the new bridge featuring innovative use of a 200t crane to install the arch and use of a jack-up barge in the Parramatta River.
  • Extensive stakeholder management with City of Parramatta Council, surrounding residents, and the Sydney Ferry service.
  • Environmental management on the Paramatta River and community liaison in congested urban areas.
  • Relocation of existing Aboriginal heritage sculpture.
Alfred Street Bridge Opening

Comprehensive planning and management 

Abergeldie worked closely with key stakeholders to develop a low-risk methodology to construct the bridge, investigating options, risks, and opportunities to ensure the design intent could be achieved and the project delivered successfully.

Working within and over the river proved challenging. The shallow 40m river span is tidal and features riparian mangroves on both the northern and southern river banks. The Parramatta Light Rail project had work sites along River Road West and Tramway Avenue to the south-east of the Bridge site at Alfred Street. The construction methodology considered these constraints and focused on lifting the deck and arch with a heavy craweler crane; thus miminising the need for vegetation removal.

The Abergeldie team worked collaboratively with City of Parramatta to ensure the impact of the construction works on the Sydney Ferry service was minimised. The final construction methodology based on a single crane to lift the deck and arch minimised the ferry shut-down period to 8 weeks. It also eliminated constraints and issues that could arise while working over water, eliminated the need for temporary headstock construction in the river and later removal.

With both sides of the Parramatta River featuring high-rise residential buildings, works were restricted to daytime hours and a high level of prefabricated steel components (including the diagonal arch and steel supports) and coordinated daytime transport delivery helped to minimise the impact on local roads and noise levels for residents.


A direct connection over the Parramatta River to the light rail on the southern side

The Alfred Street Bridge provides a direct connection over the river to the Parramatta Light Rail stop on the southern side, along with services, schools, and recreational opportunities.

The completed Alfred Street Bridge is Australia's first true diagonal bridge and provides for even more of the community to enjoy over 20km of off-road paths along the Parramatta River.