A team of talented female engineers is leading the delivery of one of Queensland’s newest bridges – the new four-lane Underwood Road overpass, in Brisbane’s South.

Led by Senior Project Engineer, Jessica England the team consists of Project Engineer, Lisa Carne and Site Engineer Luisa Piacere. Bridge design was carried out by two female designers from Jacobs – Natalee Davies and Megan Strong.

The new bridge replaces the existing two-lane bridge and is being built in a live traffic environment with more than 150,000 vehicles per day passing through the work area.

Bridge construction will involve installation of four spans of deck using 52 pre-cast concrete girders. Each individual girder weighs more than 65 tonnes. More than 600m3 of concrete will be required for the deck slab.

The new bridge is being built to the north of the existing bridge and is expected to be completed in mid-2019.

In 2017, England won the National Association of Women in Construction Award for Achievement in Construction (Civil works).

“Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate to work in teams that are more diverse and balanced.  I look forward to seeing more women, like Lisa and Luisa, progress to senior project roles in the future," she says. 

“It’s important for young women entering a traditionally male-dominated industry to have strong female role models. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to draw on my experiences and be a positive influence on my team.”

Queensland’s Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said it was fantastic to see a talented team of female engineers driving this major project. 

“While there is still much work to be done, TMR is committed to supporting women working in engineering. TMR has 82 female employees in its engineering ranks," he says. 

‘‘Our female engineers work across all disciplines and extend to some of our top ranks with two Deputy Director-Generals leading the charge.”