|
Customer: Department of Primary Industries, Water & Environment Contract: Design and Construct Location: Meander Valley, Tasmania   |
Fast Facts
|
We proposed and implemented an alternative construction approach for the Meander Dam project, with our roller compacted concrete (RCC) solution reducing environmental risk and delivering cost, productivity and program benefits for the Tasmanian Government.
Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) is a special blend of concrete that has essentially the same ingredients as conventional concrete but in different ratios. The drier mix has many time and cost benefits over conventional mass concrete, including higher rates of concrete placement, lower material costs, and lower costs associated with post-cooling and formwork
Our scope of works for the project included:
- design and construction of the dam wall, intake tower and outlet works
- design and construction of an access road to the dam site and mini-hydro station
- relocation of roads inundated by the reservoir, including a crossing over the Meander River
- protection and rejuvenation of endangered wildlife and fauna in the surrounding areas
- delivery of improved water and irrigation systems to farms and towns within the region.
Due to the pristine location, many environmental challenges had to be met. These included maintaining quality drinking water for the towns of Meander and Deloraine downstream from the construction site.
Every possible precaution was taken including implementing state of the art clearing practices and stripping practices below-river-level construction.
Dolerite rock was used as the RCC aggregate, and this was sourced from a quarry adjacent to the left abutment of the dam. The material then went through a primary and secondary crushing operation to produce the aggregate. RCC was delivered from the pug mill to the dam by a conveyor system on the left abutment, and the fresh material was deposited into a bin on the dam surface.
The material was then transported by a loader and dumped in the required position. The conveyor was supported by feet on the dam surface. The lowest section was lifted up each layer until it was horizontal and could be removed. This sequence was repeated until the top of the abutment was reached.
Completed on time and under budget, the dam now provides 43,000 million litres of irrigation water to the Meander Valley agricultural community each year. The stored water is also used to produce electricity with a mini-hydro power station constructed by others at the toe of the dam.
The project was awarded the Civil Contractors' Federation Earth Award for Construction Excellence and the Concrete Institute of Australia Award for Excellence in Concrete - Engineering Projects Category.
