Timber beams arrive for Wulanda
The longest single glulam timber beams ever shipped to Australia - spanning up to 42 metres, have been loaded on to two trucks to make the journey from the wharf in Port Melbourne to the Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre construction site on Margaret Street in Mount Gambier South Australia today Tuesday 22 June 2021 and Thursday 24 June 2021.
The timber beams at Zeebrugee Port, Belgium. Image courtesy HESS TIMBER
13 full length glued laminated timber beams measuring 42 metres and two segmented beams were produced by German timber engineering project specialist HESS TIMBER for the pool hall within the $57.3 million Wulanda development.
The timber rafters were crafted at HESS TIMBER’s production facility in Kleinheubach, Germany. The beams departed from Zeebrugee Terminal in Belgium at the end of April and travelled approximately 25,000 kilometres via ocean to Australia as break-bulk-cargo, arriving at the wharf in Port Melbourne on Saturday 12 June 2021.
A specialist South Australian freight contractor used two mobile hydraulic cranes to unload the beams from the ocean freight platforms, called multi-purpose boogies (MPB), and on to each truck which will carry three to four timber beams to their destination in Mount Gambier over four loads.
The long and oversized loads will measure 2.5 metres wide and 49 metres in length. Three certified pilots will be required to escort the loads through Victoria to South Australia.
The trucks will travel under police escort and will follow a pre-approved traffic management plan.
The timber beams arrived at the wharf in Port Melbourne on Saturday 12 June 2021. Image courtesy of Sandstruct.
The travel route from Port Melbourne to Olympic Park in Mount Gambier:
- Kooringa Way, Port Melbourne,
- Webb Dock Road,
- West Gate Freeway,
- Princes Freeway,
- Hamilton Highway,
- Lismore – Skipton Road,
- Glenelg Highway,
- Dunkeld – Cavendish Road,
- Henty Highway,
- Glenelg Highway,
- Worrolong Road,
- Riddoch Hwy
- Bay Road,
- Margaret Street, Mount Gambier.
Learn more about the timber used for the Wulanda Recreation and Convention Centre with DesignInc Architect Ben Luppino and HESS TIMBER’s Tyson Infanti on the Timber Talks podcast.
