Batesman bay project, Australia: The bridge is located within a very small site area in a designated ‘marine park’, the highest level of marine protection in Australia, which makes the construction site even more delicate. The VSL teams have also been able to bring their know-how for the foundations with the installation of 24 piles drilled in the marine environment. 

Huw Riley, VSL Australia, says: “The marine park environment means that we couldn’t create rock platforms in the river. Marine works were all carry out from the barges and specifically designed prefabricated platforms around and on the top of the pile caps. Water management was a significant constraint for the marine activities. No water could be discharged or escape into the marine park environment, therefore we had to fully encapsulate the works and create innovative solutions to deliver concrete and remove waste.”

Umm Lafina project, Abu Dhabi: Though arch-shaped bridge designs are not commonplace – in particular in United Arab Emirates where the Umm Lafina bridge is the first of its kind – the choice of this design has been done to improve navigation whilst mitigating construction impact on the mangrove trees. The arch-bridge was the perfect design solution to allow the water to flow beneath the arches, transporting oxygen to the coastal forest.

Paolo Cerea, VSL project manager, says: “The construction of a road would have been a disturbance to the local marine ecosystem, and the construction of a “classical” bridge was not relevant in such a shallow marine area. The arch-bridge was the perfect design solution to allow the water to flow beneath the arches, transporting oxygen to the coastal forest.” 

Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, India: The future Mumbai Trans harbor link (MTHL) -a 7.8 km 3 lane twin carriageway continuous bridge- will facilitate decongestion of the island by improving connectivity between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. When completed, it will be the longest sea bridge in India.

Kailash Basita, managing director VSL India says: “This is a very complex project in a marine environment, with the need to respect the mangroves and pink flamingoes which are living there. Noise control and various other environmental measures are in place.”