So after managing the maintenance contracts that come out of our state highway structures management contract for nearly ten years I passed it on to someone else a couple of years ago. Tonight they roped me back in.
Walking up to the Harbour Bridge
Sawtooth joint units, the ones on the off ramp keep coming loose. One currently has the part that holds the rubber seal in place broken off. Ten units are being dispatched via airfreight from France next week.
On the viaduct off the Harbour Bridge the maintenance contractor is undertaking maintenance on the expansion joints. These are wearing into the underlaying concrete.
This then locks the sliding/expanding side up causing the M20 (3/4") link bolts that connect the sliding part to the bridging plates to break. Don't get me started on the fact, despite the manufacturers assurances that they don't carry any load, the feet of the guide rails for the sliding part wears holes in the concrete. To top it all off the slide rails and the studs that connect them to the deck changed in size between the units originally installed and the spares that were purchased five years ago. These things have been the bane of my life!