Roads and Maritime Services engaged McConnell Dowell OHL JV to build the Kundabung to Kempsey Pacific Highway Upgrade.
The K2K project will deliver 14 kilometres of four lane divided highway from north of Barrys Creek, near Kundabung, to the southern end of the Kempsey bypass. Major work started in November 2014 and is expected to be completed in 2017, weather permitting.
Key features of the upgrade include building twin bridges over both Smiths Creek and Pipers Creek, a new interchange at Kundabung Road and new northbound and southbound rest areas south of Mingaletta Road.
The project will deliver reduced travel times between Port Macquarie and Kempsey for motorists and improved travel safety through road design and separation of north and southbound lanes.
Progress on the construction of the new southbound lanes enabled the recent traffic switch to take place. On the night of 14 July Pacific Highway traffic was switched onto the new carriageway between Barrys Creek and just north of the Smiths Creek Bridge (the first 4.2 kms of 14km)
The night crew worked hard to safely implement the traffic switch with a night time low temperature of 0.5°C. Work on the night included final line marking, barrier movements, final wire rope installation and signage. During these preparations the team also successfully managed the access to three local side roads in the switch area.
The traffic switch gives the team access to start the construction on the northbound lanes which includes the completion of box culverts, demolition and rebuild of the Smiths Creek Bridge, associated earthworks and pavement.
This achievement is a significant milestone for the K2K construction team, congratulations to all involved for your perseverance and hard work to get the switch complete.
With over 100,000m2 of new, high performance concrete successfully laid, McConnell Dowell has now completed the Papa, Uniform and Golf (PUG) taxiways at Melbourne Airport. The new pavements, up to 500mm thick, replace deteriorating slabs and ensure safe access for aircraft arrival and departure from the terminal building.
To celebrate the project’s completion, McConnell Dowell hosted an event at the airport which was well attended by our customer, Australia Pacific Airports Corporation and key stakeholders Qantas, Virgin, Beca and the designers.
Joe Walsh, Technical Leader – Airports of Beca said “One of the key factors in the successful delivery of this project was the early contractor involvement with McConnell Dowell. This ensured the planning and sequencing of the project was correct before commencing works, enabling all parties to achieve a positive outcome”
Luke Naughton, McConnell Dowell Project Manager said “it was a pleasure to work with and deliver a project with a positive outcome for both McConnell Dowell and the Melbourne Airport.” Luke also detailed some of the achievements and initiatives developed by the project team, including an Australasian Aviation Ground Safety Award in 2015 for the “FOD Off” poster campaign. (FOD is Foreign Object Debris)
Melbourne Airports CEO Lyell Stambi said “This was a fantastic project and program, and an excellent combined effort between all involved. This project had little or no unscheduled operational impact to the Airport and its key stakeholders and is definitely one to be proud of”.
Jim Frith the Managing Director - Australia, McConnell Dowell said he was extremely proud of the collaborative relationship that had been developed amongst the project teams and stressed the importance of working in partnership with our customers and designers to ensure project success.
Watch time lapse footage of the project
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Melbourne Airport CEO Lyell Stambi with McConnell Dowell Managing Director - Australia, Jim Frith
Img - Some of the team from PUGs with McConnell Dowell Managing Director - Australia, Jim Frith
Fast Facts from the project:
69,000 m2 of concrete aprons replaced
33,735m3 of PCC Concrete placed
2,000m3 of RSCC Concrete placed
375 individual concrete pours
252 proof rolls completed
Over 198,000 man hours
Largest undertaking (per pour) of Rapid Set Cement Concrete in Australia
McConnell Dowell’s resident team in American Samoa has boosted its workload with the award of three new contracts to be delivered between July 2016 and September 2017.
These contracts are the latest in a long and successful history in American Samoa for McConnell Dowell, beginning in 1989.
Continuing our longstanding relationship with the American Samoa Government, we have been contracted by the Department of Port Administration to dredge Faleasao harbour in the Manu’a islands. This project to deepen the harbour will create safe access for the new Government vessel which will run regular passenger trips from Tutuila to the Manu’a islands.
Drawing on our experience in roading resurfacing, rehabilitation and repair, the American Samoan Department of Public Works (DPW) has contracted McConnell Dowell to undertake further road rehabilitation works between the villages of Auma and Afao on the main island of Tutuilla.
McConnell Dowell has a well-established roading capability in the Pacific Islands and has completed numerous contracts across Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, American Samoa, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
Also on Tutuilla, McConnell Dowell is looking forward to assisting the United States Army Corps of Engineers with a programme of building refurbishment works at the US Army Reserve barracks in Tafuna.
McConnell Dowell’s diverse rail business continues to build momentum with three recent awards for our Plant Services team in Victoria.
The team has secured additional works with V/Line as they continue to deliver on their infrastructure development program aimed at enhancing service reliability and punctuality. As a panel contractor for 2 years, and with the recent successful completion of the Rowsley Crossing Loop Project, this new work reinforces the strength of McConnell Dowell’s growing partnership with Australia’s largest regional public transport operator.
In support of the state government’s ambitious level crossing removal program, McConnell Dowell is providing state-of-the-art equipment and highly skilled plant operators to the Bayswater level crossing removal project. With the provision of McConnell Dowell’s flawless reliability, availability and performance underwrites the industry’s confidence in selecting our rail team for these time-critical projects.
Finally, MTM continues to select McConnell Dowell as an integral partner in their continued drive for operational excellence on Melbourne’s expansive suburban network. Recent awards for plant services including Tamping and Regulating are a reflection of the confidence MTM have developed in McConnell Dowell’s quality of service, network knowledge and safety.
With our reliable equipment, experienced teams and a relentless focus on performance, we continue to deliver outstanding capital projects, infrastructure services and plant services in partnership with discerning network operators across Australia.
McConnell Dowell is pleased to announce the awarding by Rio Tinto of the construction contract for the Amrun Export Facility, to support Rio Tinto’s future mining operations south of Weipa in Far North Queensland.
Working with Rio Tinto’s Amrun Project team, McConnell Dowell will construct a 642 metre jetty and a 306 metre wharf. The jetty will be comprised of 26 spans, each 24 metres in length, of a traditional two pile bent structure. The wharf will be an innovative jacket and topside module construction aimed at reducing work over water and therefore safety risks. There are seven jacket structures each weighing up to 850 tonnes and six topside modules each weighing up to 1295 tonnes, which will be installed by a Heavy Lift Vessel. The award includes the provision of all offshore mechanical and electrical works.
In reflecting on the award, McConnell Dowell’s Managing Director of Australia, Jim Frith said
“Rio Tinto and Bechtel’s collaborative approach to procurement enabled out team to contribute to the development of innovative engineering solutions that fully addresses the projects challenges and delivered against each of Rio’s key project objectives. This is an excellent award for McConnell Dowell and continues our long standing leadership in the marine construction industry.”
