Westgate Bridge Collapse

The **Westgate Bridge Collapse** was a major industrial accident that took place in Melbourne, Australia, in 1970.

## Background

For many decades, access between the central business district of Melbourne and the western suburbs was limited. The Yarra River on which the city was built was wide at it's mouth into Port Phillip Bay and the only way across was by ferry. Otherwise you had to go a lot further north to the suburb of Footscray and across the industrial areas of the Melbourne Ports and the Maribyrnong River to get to suburbs like Newport, Williamstown and Altona. The Maribyrnong River flowed into the Yarra River not far from the mouth and the ports area was wide as a result. Another way to provide access was needed.

## Planning

In 1957 the Western Industries Association was formed. Over the next year it held discussions with the state government and the Williamstown, Footscray and Port Melbourne councils. The Minister for Public Works advised that the money wasn't available at that point and suggested private funding. The matter stalled until 1961 when another group called the Lower Yarra Crossing Company Limited was incorporated and over the next year they pushed the state government into considerable sub surface investigations through the Country Roads Board. This led to a Parliamentary Committee looking into it seeking a decision as to whether it should be a bridge or a tunnel that links the two sides of the river. The Committee couldn't agree, but the government opted for the bridge.

Through the *Lower Yarra Crossing Authority Act 1965*, the process began when the Victorian state government engaged consultants to design the bridge. The place chosen to cross the Yarra River was between the suburbs of Yarraville and Spotswood on the west bank of the river to the corresponding place on the east bank. This was only a short distance north of the ferry location. The flat land on either side plus the need for room to be given for ships to move into the Melbourne Ports without the need of a drawbridge arrangement added the requirement for height. This caused the additional factor of the wind coming off Port Phillip Bay.

## Construction commences

In early 1968, John Holland and World Services won the contract to build the bridge and constructions commenced. The bridge was a box girder design, where pre-fabricated segments in a hollow, trapezoidal box shape were slowly moved into place. Most segments were floated over the river on barges and then lifted into position by a crane. The process was moving well and without incident, although it was falling behind as the bridge was due to be completed in December 1970.

## Construction problems emerge

In 1970, the base was almost complete and the construction from the two sides were about to meet in the middle. But in what was a massive error, the bridge from the west bank was 11 centimetres higher than the other. It might not seem like much but it was enough to cause what were some fatal decisions.

To try and correct the error, the higher section was loaded with 10 concrete blocks each weighing eight tonnes to try and push that side down to the correct height. The process caused a buckle in the bridge, which engineers tried to fix by removing a numbers of bolts to ease some of the stress on the structure.

Many workers were concerned over the result - some concerned over movement in the bridge. But no action was taken by them through the union.

## The collapse

Finally, at 11:50am on October 15, 1970, it happened. The sound of bolts pinging from the frame of the bridge, mimicking the sound of gunfire, followed by an entire 110 metre span of the bridge falling to the ground. The first section that hit the ground landed on huts where workers were having an early lunch. They were crushed instantly and didn't stand a chance. Another section fell on diesel tanks at the site, triggering a huge explosion that could be heard kilometres away. The impact of the collapse was felt in nearby buildings. Workers on the bridge section that collapsed fell with it with some survivors who were lucky enough to fall in the river. The final death toll was 35.

## The reaction

Melbourne was shocked at the news. The Premier of Victoria, Henry Bolte, wasted no time ordering construction to cease while the cause was looked into. He ordered a Royal Commission into the disaster. Over a period of six months the Commission of three men heard evidence from witnesses and took written and photographic evidence before handing down it's report on July 14, 1971. It was found that both the structural design and the building method was at fault. Nobody involved in any aspect of the building escaped blame in a comprehensive blast that delighted unions in particular. However the unions were not impressed with being accused of not doing anything about safety at the time. They responded by advising that there were no processes of complaint in place - save going on strike over it. The Commission seemed to be of the view that the union should have gone on strike.

Construction resumed in 1972, with the issues taken care of, but the setback pushed the completion and opening of the bridge back to 1978, blowing out to a cost of $202 million and opening eight years behind the original schedule. The safety measures introduced were considered highly satisfactory by the unions, and many found their way into the *Occupational Health and Safety Act 1985*. It merely formalised was what already in place as a result of the disaster and was used on other projects such as the City Loop Rail Project. The engineering faculty at Monash University participated in the investigation, and they retained six twisted fragments of the bridge as a reminder of the importance of getting everything right. The fragments adorn the gardens of the faculty at the University's main campus in Melbourne.

## *Opinions*

* My mother had the radio on at midday on the day of the collapse and heard the news - probably along with most of Melbourne. OH&S is a major watch word in everything nowadays and it was incidents like this that served as a lesson in the pitfalls of engineering errors and work place safety. Whoever the bloody idiot was who ordered those concrete blocks hopefully got the sack for it amongst those who did. In terms of loss of life, this was the second biggest industrial disaster in Australian history, with only a mining fire in Queenstown in Tasmania in 1912 costing more lives. **TLPG** 13:10, 13 July 2021 (UTC)