Fatigue failures of light poles

The Bolte Bridge and the Western Link Elevated Road are part of Melbourne's CityLink tollway, and provide vital connections in the transport system west of the Melbourne CBD. In September 2003 a light pole on the Western Link Elevated Road failed due to fracture of two anchor bolts (herein referred to as bolt-failure). The light pole fell across the northbound carriageway. In June 2004 a light pole near the crest of the Bolte Bridge failed due to fracture of the mast near the base (herein referred to as mast-failure). The light pole again fell across the northbound carriageway. No one was injured in either of these incidents, but extensive traffic disruption occurred. CityLink Melbourne Limited (CML) requested that Maunsell Australia Pty Ltd (Maunsell) investigate the failures, and report on the cause and any recommended remedial measures. CML committed significant resources to obtaining an understanding of the underlying cause of these failures so that all reasonable precautions could be taken to avoid any further failures. The investigation undertaken by Maunsell on behalf of CML involved original research, leading to recommendations for remedial work, and recommendations for design procedures to improve the whole of life performance of light poles. These recommendations are reported in this paper. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E214936.

• Record URL:
  • http://arrbknowledge.com
• Authors:
  • TAPLIN, G
  • SANDERS, G
  • MAKLARY, Z
  • CONNAL, J
• Publication Date: 2006

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 12P
• Serial:
  • AUSTROADS BRIDGE CONFERENCE, 6TH, 2006, PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
  • Publisher: AUSTROADS

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bolts; Bridges; Conferences; Design; Failure; Lighting columns; Maintenance; Support poles
• ITRD Terms: 3888: Bolt; 3455: Bridge; 8525: Conference; 9011: Design (overall design); 5520: Failure; 527: Lighting column; 3847: Maintenance; 3312: Pole
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Maintenance and Preservation; Materials; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls; I35: Miscellaneous Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01051013
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: ARRB
• Files: ITRD, ATRI
• Created Date: Jun 11 2007 1:08PM