Jobs Pile High For Morson

Morson Engineering will help traffic flow in Newcastle after winning a local contract in September to supply piling for the new Tourle Street Bridge project.

The bridge will be built east of the existing bridge and have two 3.5 metre wide lanes, two 2 metre wide shoulders and a 1.8 metre wide footway.

New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority tendered for the new project that will replace the existing bridge.

"We were the successful tenderer because of our experience, our quality product, our flexibility and our ability to deliver a quick turn around," Morson Engineering, General Manager, Rhett Morson said.

"We specialise in supplying pipes and piling and our machinery is set up to support that, if last minute changes are required we can make them easily and quickly."

Each pile is made from Grade 350 XLERPLATE® steel, 40 metres long and 800mm in diameter.

"The piles will be transported in 20 metre lengths and then joined on site," Mr Morson said. "It will be necessary to obtain permission to transport the long loads."

Based at Wyong on New South Wales' Central Coast, Morson Engineering is just an hour's drive from the construction site.

Piling will be delivered to site in early 2008, ahead of the bridge's completion mid year.

The company exclusively uses Grade 250 and 350 XLERPLATE® steel. Mr Morson said the fact that XLERPLATE® was Australian made and offered good delivery times were key reasons his company used it.

Morson Engineering's project portfolio includes Sydney's Anzac Bridge, the Karuah Bypass north of Newcastle on the Pacific Highway, and Melbourne's Western Link.

The company was founded in 1945 by Jock Morson and is currently run by Jock's grandsons Rhett and Trent Morson.