Windsor Road Single Span Crossing Bridge

Solar-powered vibration and environmental monitoring with high-frequency data acquisition, ensuring long-term safety of Australia’s first curved cable-stayed railway bridge

The Windsor Road Single Span Crossing Project

The Windsor Road Single Span Crossing (WRSSC) is a pioneering railway bridge integral to the Northwest Rail Link, a vital component of Sydney’s Metro system. As Australia’s first cable-stayed railway bridge built on a curve, WRSSC exemplifies innovative engineering and addresses the increasing transport demands of Sydney’s expanding population.

The Challenges

Conducting comprehensive vibration analysis on WRSSC presented unique challenges due to its design, location, and the need to ensure worker safety while minimizing disruptions to the railway network. The bridge’s remote, off-grid setting added further complexity, especially for achieving continuous, high-frequency data acquisition and maintaining reliable power for all monitoring systems.

What We’ve Delivered

In 2024, Sixense delivered a sophisticated Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) system tailored specifically for WRSSC. The solution includes a range of vibrations sensors providing high-resolution data on structural behaviour, such as two-dimensional and three-dimensional accelerometers, as well as a weather station to track environmental influences on the bridge. High-frequency data acquisition units provide real-time processing of this information, ensuring accurate monitoring and analysis. To achieve complete autonomy, a green-powered system was integrated, featuring solar panels paired with a 10kWh battery system. This configuration allows the WRSSC monitoring infrastructure to operate independently of external power sources for more resilience to
extreme events. With this sophisticated monitoring system, engineers can remotely track the bridge’s structural health in real time, enabling faster responses to emerging issues and supporting proactive maintenance. This approach enhances the WRSSC’s durability, ensuring safe and reliable service on Sydney’s Northwest Rail Link for years to come.