The Story Bridge footpaths, used by about 4000 walkers, bike and scooter riders, were closed suddenly five months ago, and remained shut amid revelations parts of the bridge were an “extreme risk” to the public.
Brisbane City Council is hoping it can reopen at least one footpath before the end of the year, and this month is starting to install steel joists and reinforced polymer decking, warning some traffic lanes will have to be closed at night.
We can now reveal more details about how the new footpath decking will be installed, after the council uploaded this PDF to its website.
The decking will be similar to the South Bank boardwalk.Credit: Felicity Caldwell
Structural support beams will be installed under the decking, which will take weight off the existing concrete footpath slabs when they are reopened to pedestrians and cyclists.
Once all the supporting beams are in place, the decking – made from a reinforced polymer composite with a high strength-to-weight ratio – will be progressively installed.
For safety, a temporary mobile scaffolding frame will be used to install the new decking, which will be removed before the footpaths are reopened.
The decking will be a bit like the South Bank Boardwalk.
A report handed to council on March 5, and later released publicly, recommended limiting access to the public to about 70kg for every square metre of footpath slab, which would still present a “medium+ risk”.
“Noting that 0.7kPa is about 71kg/m2 and the general population is close to or above this mass practicality needs to be considered,” the report said.
The report’s authors suggested access could be controlled into two single file lanes of pedestrians, one in each direction, but this would be highly impractical and generate new hazards and impede the movement of bikes and prams.
Without limiting access to 70kg per square metre, the report’s authors said footpath access should be banned completely.