Frome Street North South Bikeway
Client:
City of Adelaide
Location:
Adelaide, SA
Designing to support a healthier community
The City of Adelaide has committed to building a greener, more liveable city by improving streets and delivering high-quality bike routes that encourage more people to cycle.
They had developed concept plans for a Copenhagen-style elevated and separated bikeway to provide riders with an improved level of connectivity and safety, the first of its kind in South Australia.
Tonkin was engaged by the council to prepare detailed designs for the construction of the segregated bikeway along Frome Street, between North Terrace and Wakefield Street in the Adelaide CBD. The resulting works have created a substantial benefit for residents, property owners, small business, bike riders, motorists and pedestrians.
What we did
A lack of information surrounding the depth of services made the stormwater and pavement design difficult to finalise. Throughout the project we were required to revise the design to accommodate services and old footings as they were discovered onsite during construction. Level separation between footpath, bikeway and road vastly changes stormwater flow conditions so we undertook detailed modelling to inform the placement of new stormwater pits, whilst integrating with the existing stormwater infrastructure.
The bikeway needed to be constructed in tightly scheduled stages to not disrupt other activities occurring in the CBD. Our designs were provided in an efficient manner to permit timely construction.
The bikeway needed to be constructed in tightly scheduled stages to not disrupt other activities occurring in the CBD. Our designs were provided in an efficient manner to permit timely construction.
What we achieved
Design and construction challenges including unknown services at numerous locations and depths, historic footings uncovered during the works and missing stormwater infrastructure were resolved efficiently onsite by the Tonkin team. During the project Tonkin was able to successfully overcome several stormwater-related challenges, including the unique nature of the grade-separated bikeway and limited survey information for the Adelaide city area. Specific challenges along the bikeway called for a range of innovative design features:
- Unique zebra crossings were installed near the drop-off zones of two hotels for the safety of riders and foot traffic
- Cycle-friendly drainage grates led to the development of a bespoke design
- The bikeway was made from a durable exposed aggregate concrete finish, the first of its kind in the state, as the pavement needed to cope with City maintenance and other heavy vehicles.
How we made a difference
Tonkin worked collaboratively with the City on the design and construction of the North-South Bikeway to ensure “best for project” outcomes that would support greater use and a healthier community. Design and construction support was delivered on time against a complex backdrop of a stop-start schedule and historic infrastructure issues, underlining Tonkin’s exceptional flexibility and renowned can-do approach to urban development.