West Gate Bridge

Cyclops deck deformation monitoring with radar water clearance measurement, ensuring structural performance and security compliance for Melbourne’s busiest bridge

The West Gate Bridge Project

The West Gate Bridge is an iconic structure of the Melbourne landscape, spanning the Yarra River just north of its mouth into Port Phillip. It is a vital link between the inner city and Melbourne’s western suburbs with the industrial suburbs in the west and with the city of Geelong, 80 kilometers to the south-west. It is one of the busiest road corridors in Australia. A decade ago, the bridge was expanded to 2 x 4 lanes to accommodate growing traffic.

The Situation

To address concerns about vertical deck displacement under different loads, VicRoads, the asset management authority, awarded Sixense a contract in 2019. The objective was to establish a near-real-time monitoring system for multiple deck points. A key challenge involved designing the system to operate independently of internet connectivity, meeting the client’s stringent security requirements.

What We’ve Delivered

Sixense installed a deformation monitoring system to track the structure. The CYCLOP, powered by hands, connects to a monitoring server at the VicRoads office via an Ethernet cable. Fifteen monitoring prisms were meticulously installed on the 50-meter-high bridge soffit using specialized techniques for secure attachment. A truck-mounted Mobile Bridge Inspection Platform enabled precise prism installation. Water clearance to the Yarra River is also monitored in real-time using a radar sensor. Data is wirelessly transmitted to the VicRoads office via a datalogger and integrated into the monitoring server along with the bridge displacement data.
To prioritize internal security, an isolated monitoring system has initially been implemented without any internet connectivity. All operations were carried out on a local server, ensuring an air-tight environment. However, subsequent the ISO27001 (Cyber ​​Security) certification of Beyond Monitoring services in 2023, the project moved to the Cloud, delivering enhanced
capabilities with great flexibility.