The installation of the watermains pipe is a critical part of Regional Rail Link (RRL) – a landmark infrastructure project that will remove major bottlenecks in Victoria’s rail network.
RRL builds dedicated regional tracks from West Werribee Junction to Deer Park, then along the existing rail corridor from Sunshine to Southern Cross Station. The project involves the construction of two new railway stations in Wyndham Vale and Tarneit, connecting these growing communities to the rail network for the first time. When complete, passengers on the Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat lines will have a streamlined journey through the metropolitan system.
Scope of Richmond’s contract
Richmond was engaged under Supply Contract WPE-CON -0212 for the manufacture and supply of permanent and temporary bridge connections for the water mains, including:
- Permanent hanger sets
- Temporary roller hanger sets, including temporary works design
- Temporary bridge pier rollers
- Temporary trench rollers for launching the pipe under the bridges.
Design considerations
Due to physical constraints involved in the construction of the project, pipe hangers could only be placed every seven metres.
The watermains pipe is a mild steel cement-lined water pipe, which has a Sintakote protective coating. The roller hanger slings supplied by Richmond Wheel & Castor Co had to be height adjustable to allow for installation of the permanent pipe supports.
Launching the pipe
Richmond Wheel & Castor Co also supplied rollers, P/N 055LAUNCHROLL, for launching the watermains pipe. These rollers were used to support individual pipe lengths during welding and to align the water pipe with the temporary pipe slings.
The flexibility of the pipe rollers allowed for the welding and alignment processes to be conducted without compromising or dismantling any part of the pipeline.
Outcome
Richmond Wheel & Castor Co designed and manufactured pipe sling rollers to successfully launch the watermains pipe under the bridges and suspend them in position ready for the permanent brackets to be attached.
Richmond Wheel and Casto Co met client milestones to ensure the project finished on time. This also included components that were permanent and had to be cast into the bridge deck slab prior to pipe launching.
Rob Keens, Utilities Manager for the Baulderstone Leighton Joint Venture, said “Richmond Wheel and Castor Co was selected for the job because of its novel design solution which included chains, wire ropes and roller systems that were easy to install and adjust and provided a great solution for a difficult engineering task.
“The Company supplied good quality workmanship, on time, which met the needs of the project. All people onsite during the installation were extremely happy with the system and how easy and quick it was to install the watermains under the bridges.”