Design Of Pile Foundation For An Integral Bridge In Soft Ground On Hunter Expressway

The Hunter Expressway will provide a four-lane carriageway 40 km long between the F3 Interchange at Newcastle and the New England Highway at Branxton, New South Wales Australia. It is due to be opened by the end of 2013. The Hunter Expressway Alliance (HEA), comprising Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), Thiess Pty Ltd, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Hyder Consulting, is constructing the eastern section consisting of 13 km of new freeway and local road adjustments. There are 23 bridges and major culvert structures. This paper describes the foundation design challenges of bridge No. 18 at Buchanan Interchange. In particular, it will discuss foundation design constraints from the bridge structure, 5 m high embankment on soft compressible ground and its impact on pile design, construction constraints and monitoring, and pile testing.