Inspections · Australia
Timber inspection for Australia's council and shire bridge networks
Councils, shires, and state departments manage thousands of aging timber bridges. WRD’s inspections rate real condition and load capacity non-destructively, so you can set load limits, plan works, and defend the spend at tender.
The Australia Problem
Enormous timber bridge inventories, most past their design life
Australian local governments carry huge inventories of timber road bridges, many decades past their design life, and every one needs a defensible condition state and load rating before works can be funded or a tender written. Most engineering consultancies can’t properly assess timber (so they’re conservative, condemn it, and specify a concrete replacement. WRD is the firm councils and shires bring in on the critical structures, because our EPHOD® non-destructive testing reads what the timber can actually still carry. That turns a reflexive replacement into a costed, evidence-based decision) and often a restoration.
Timber deck panel installation, Queensland
Who We Serve Here
Built for Australian government procurement
Local councils & shires
State road authorities & QBuild
State departments (Transport, Forestry, Parks & Wildlife)
Mining & rail operators
Heritage building owners
Consultancies who sub WRD in on timber
The method, in brief
Level 2 and Level 3 assessments are delivered by Level II certified WRD technicians using EPHOD® and PET stress-wave testing, and can be bundled into a design project with a client Hold Point. See how a WRD inspection works →
Standards & Credentials
RPEQ / CPEng, prequalified
Assessment to AS 5100 (bridge design), AS 1720 (timber structures), AS 1170 (loads), AS 1328 (glulam), AS 1604 (preservative treatment), and AS 2156 (walking tracks), delivered by RPEQ / RPEV / CPEng / NER engineers. We’re a State Road Authority and QBuild prequalified consultancy and work through Local Buy procurement. We know the approvals timber bridge and waterway projects run through (Cultural Heritage Assessment, EPA, Works on Waterways permits, EPBC referrals, SARA, DPI, and DAF) and specify APVMA-approved preservative treatments.
Heritage timber pillar, Broken Hill
Regional Projects
On record in Australia
South Arm Bridge
Byron Shire, NSW · Level III
South Arm Bridge
Seven-span heritage timber crossing
Level III inspection and load assessment behind an upgrade from 10 to 44 tonnes, recycling original timbers.
For Australia projects
Specified to the standards your engineers already work to
Assessment to AS 5100, AS 1720, and AS 1170: signed by RPEQ / CPEng engineers for councils, shires, and state authorities.
AS 5100
AS 1720
AS 1170
RPEQ / CPEng
Your Australia contact
Stephen Richards
Regional Manager, Australia
Unit 2/49-53 Kabi Circuit
Deception Bay, QLD 4508