Protection Barriers that Deliver on Safety and Design

The right protection barriers can make infrastructure installations such as public footbridges safer, without compromising on design.

At Tensile, we have designed and installed many stainless steel Webnet mesh barriers where design was a key focus of the project. The engineering requirements for footbridge barriers are also very specific in terms of standards compliance (AS5100 and AS1170), load inputs, climbability and material strength.

Webnet can be designed and tensioned to meet all of these requirements and more, thanks to its flexibility, robustness, strength, ability to stretch across large spans, configuration options and low ongoing maintenance needs.

It’s highly transparent and has a light appearance that belies its strength. This means Webnet can be used to create barriers that do not impede the design and can even be a design feature in their own right.

Protection barriers for footbridges over highways

As well as having high strength and robustness, barriers for footbridges over highways must address climbability. We typically use Webnet with a clear opening of 40mm or 50mm to prevent people being able to get footholds in the mesh. Climbing can also be further prevented by installing a very high barrier.

One of the advantages of Webnet barriers is that they can be pre-installed to the bridge offsite, which helps minimise installation time and reduce disruptions to the public. This approach has been taken with many of our projects.

Protection Barriers that Deliver on Safety and Design / Tensile Design & Construct

Our bridge barrier projects include:

Emu Plains Station steel pedestrian bridge

This bridge is located at the railway station but runs over Old Bathurst Road. For the barrier we used Webnet with a 40mm aperture-size opening. The barrier covers the full height of the bridge, which further maximises safety. The mesh was also pre-installed offsite. We placed high priority on adapting the barrier to the design of the bridge, focusing on the finest details while ensuring compliance with AS1170. We think the completed bridge and its lightweight barrier look pretty good – take a look!

Hobart Bridge of Remembrance

This is a stunning 200m steel bridge over the Tasman Highway which has a twisting plane design. For the barrier, we used 40mm Webnet made from 1.5mm wire rope, which was formed into full-sized sheets beforehand. It was important to us that the barrier aligned with the bridge’s design. The use of Webnet helps to fulfill this goal through its translucent appearance and by treading lightly on the finished structure. See it here.

Webnet barriers for railway bridges

The guidelines for footbridge barriers over railway lines generally call for a smaller mesh – typically with a clear opening of no more than 25mm.

Where a bridge spans both a highway and a railway line at different points, the size of the Webnet varies depending on the section. This occurred with the CBD & South-East Light Rail bridge, which partially runs over the Eastern Distributor roadway. To meet the required standards, we used both 25mm and 50mm Webnet, mounted onto frames beforehand and bolted onto the bridge afterwards.

The completed anti-throw barriers allow for fall protection, non-climbing, clear visibility and a lightweight appearance.

You can find many more Webnet infrastructure barrier projects on our website. Contact us if you have any questions!

Protection Barriers that Deliver on Safety and Design / Tensile Design & Construct

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