In a blog post, the company said the work had been completed in early August after it, and its delivery partner Visionstream, hauled the fibre across the 2.7-km Houghton Highway Bridge which connects Redcliffe and Brisbane.
The build was said to be one of the most difficult in Queensland, being the longest fibre haul system in the state at 2.8kms.
NBN Co said the difficulties involved began with replacing sections of conduit on the underside of the bridge as these were damaged.
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“It was a challenge, as various methods were used to get the cable across, including using ladders, knuckle boom vehicles, boats and a barge to mount the winch for hauling,” said David Kalcher, NBN Co general manager, Transit Site and Active.
“The teams were well prepared and had the cable hauled across the bridge within hours. It was a team effort from both our internal and external stakeholders which drove such a positive outcome on the day.”
Work had to be carried out from a barge at low ride and the crew had to fight tidal conditions to complete their job.
A high-capacity fibre cable was winched between manholes from Clontarf to Brighton and will link exchanges in Redcliffe and Kalangur.
Apart from the capacity needed, an additional four-fold increase was added to future-proof the area for any further needs.
“The spare fibres should serve well for any future demand. It is a strategic decision to prevent us returning to the same difficult situation,” Kalcher said.
Photo: courtesy NBN Co