Station Pier Structural Assessments

For anyone leaving or arriving in Melbourne by sea, you’ll inevitably end up at Station Pier—the port for ferries and cruise ships, welcoming visitors since 1854. The Victorian Ports Corporation Melbourne (VPCM) engaged us to provide on-going assessments of key parts of the pier’s infrastructure.

We assessed steel piles, fenders on the side of the wharf, and kidney shaped bollards and their supporting structural elements. After inspecting the general condition of the elements above the water line, we performed detailed condition inspections below—fender by fender and bollard by bollard—to identify all issues for remedy. Following this detailed assessment, we developed three maintenance strategy options to be delivered over a 30-year design life that meet performance requirements, with detailed rehabilitation criteria set out for the planned staging of treatments. And finally, we provided cost estimations for each of the options.

From these assessments, VPCM can determine which items to address in the near and long terms as part of the on-going maintenance and upkeep of the pier for hopefully for another 170 years!