How long were the bridge piles and how far were they driven into the river?
The piles were 30 metres in length. Approximately 23 metres of the piles were driven into the Hindmarsh Clay below the river bed level. The friction created between the pile and the clay provided the necessary capacity for the piles, meaning they do not need to be driven down to a solid bedrock layer. After installation, the piles were tested to ensure the required design capacity was reached and the top 15 metres were filled with reinforced concrete.
