EOIs underway for new Melbourne Airport Rail-Maribyrnong River Bridge

The tender process for the construction of a new Maribyrnong River Bridge in Victoria is progressing well as pre-qualified contractors are now invited to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for this project. 

The Maribyrnong River Bridge Package will utilise an Incentivised Target Cost (ITC) procurement model, which is a collaborative form of the more traditional Design and Construct model. 

The new bridge will stand alongside the exisiting heritage bridge built in 1929 and it will have a length of 550 metres and be about 50 metres in height above water - making it the second highest bridge in the state. 

In a statement, Rail Projects Victoria said: “The concept design of the new bridge proposes to use slender piers and wider pier spacings to minimise its visual impact, better preserving the structure, sight lines and history of the existing bridge which was built in the 1920s. 

“The design will also be considerate of the area’s cultural and environmental importance, minimising the overall impacts to the surrounding land.” 

Once up and running, the new Maribyrnong Bridge will provide passengers on Melbourne Airport Rail with picturesque views across the Maribyrnong River Valley. 

The pre-qualification process commenced in August of this year and with the EOIs now open for submissions, additional supporting documents will now be provided to pre-qualified parties via an Electronic Data Room.  EOIs will close on 19th October 2021. 

For more information on the Maribyrnong River Bridge Package, you can visit the Buying for Victoria website.

The second Maribyrnong River Valley crossing is going to be built as part of the wider Melbourne Airport Rail development, which includes: 

• Major improvements to Sunshine Station, including new, accessible second pedestrian concourse with escalators and lifts for better passenger connections between regional, metropolitan and Melbourne Airport trains 

• New twin tracks rising over Anderson Road through to the start of the Albion-Jacana corridor, elevating the rail line over the Sunbury corridor, Ballarat Road and St Albans Road (less than 2 kilometres) 

• A new forecourt area, extra bike cages and some minor modifications to car parking around Albion Station 

• Twin tracks continuing at ground level along the Albion-Jacana corridor, including a new rail bridge to cross over the Maribyrnong River alongside the existing heritage bridge 

• A new rail bridge to cross over the Western Ring Road (M80) 

• Changes to existing road bridges, pedestrian and cycling connections and other rail infrastructure upgrades – such as new signalling and power systems – along the length of the route 

Major construction on Melbourne Airport Rail is anticipated to commence in 2022 and projected to begin operations in 2029, subject to relevant State and Federal Government approvals. 

Source: Victoria’s Big Build (1, 2, 3); Australia New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline; Infrastructure Magazine; Roads and Infrastructure Australia; Buying for Victoria – Tenders