Long-term fix for Adelaide's South Road overpass could take months, Transport Minister says
Updated
The possibility cheap steel or cement was used in the construction of the South Road tram overpass cannot be ruled out and the South Australian Government says it could be months before a long-term fix is found for the damaged bridge.
A section of South Road, between Anzac Highway and Cross roads, has been closed since Wednesday morning when debris fell from the tram overpass.
The overpass appeared to have shifted off its bearings in two sections.
Work on a short-term fix has been under way since Thursday morning, with the aim to re-open South Road over the weekend.
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Stephen Mullighan said he still does not know what caused the beam to shift off its bearings.
He said there were still a lot of questions about what types of products were used during construction that needed to be answered.
"The economy was in a much stronger position, we didn't have the same concerns with Arrium," Mr Mullighan said.
"There wasn't as much focus on local procurement and we certainly didn't have the procurement requirements back then that we have now when it comes to not just local workers but local materials like steel and like cement to contribute to the concrete."
McConnell Dowell were awarded the design and construction contract for the $30-million project by the State Government in April 2009.
The Government now has a focus on procuring local steel from troubled steelmaker Arrium.
Road could be closed again for repairs: Mullighan
Mr Mullighan warned the road could be closed again in the coming weeks while repairs are underway.
"When we come in and implement whatever that long-term [solution] is, we're going to need heavy equipment," he said.
"We'll need to have cranes in, we'll have to have a lot of workers in and they'll need to be safe and that will most likely require a closure to South Road at some stage again in the future."
The closure of part of South Road, which is used by up to 45,000 people a day, has caused traffic chaos, particularly for trucks which rely on South Road.
Today an advertisement for the damage bridge was posted on eBay by pranksters.
It has attracted more than $100,000 in bids.
Topics: states-and-territories, government-and-politics, road-transport, community-and-society, adelaide-5000, sa
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