In today’s fast-expanding digital ecosystem, the tools that had long comprised a trusted arsenal for transportation engineering are now constrained. Digital workflows and adopting 3D and Building Information Management (BIM) for design, engineering, and production are progressively required to streamline review processes, reduce costs, increase efficiency, and meet customer specifications.
Lathams Road Bridge Carrum Downs, Victoria, Australia Supporting a Growing Industrial Estate Established in 2002 in the southeast part of the Melbourne metropolitan area, Carrum Downs Industrial Estate sparked a flood of economic development. As a multitude of industrial designs and engineering firms filled the estate, job growth reached 13 times higher than the regional average. With more people traveling to the area, Major Roads Projects Victoria moved to duplicate and expand Rutherford Road and Lathams Road, which would involve the construction of a new bridge. Hatch, a global management, engineering, and development consultancy, was contracted to design the bridge, though they had to work in close communication with the client’s civil team. Continuous Data Updates Require Flexibility Hatch quickly realized that the bridge needed a complex design. It would be built in parallel to an existing bridge, with just seven meters between them. The north side of the new bridge would incorporate a foot path with an edge kerb. To conceal the deck edges, the footpath kerb would have a down stand, and the barriers on the south edge would have tails. Additionally, the client’s civil team continually provided major updates and redesigns, which would have required many hours