Three major underground infrastructure projects were among the winners at the Civil Contractors Federation WA’s annual Earth Awards for excellence in civil construction.
CCF WA Chief Executive Officer Andy Graham said the Earth Awards gala dinner, hosted on Friday, 20 September at Crown Perth, was a celebration of infrastructure achievements big and small, with 21 finalists across the seven categories.
“Congratulations to all the WA Earth Award winners and we wish them well at the National Earth Awards in Canberra in November,” he said.
Engineering precision
Robb Carr and Water Corporation’s Quinns Main Sewer project claimed the Earth Award in the $30m to $75m category.
This design and construct project featured 1.8km of tunnelling, including a technically challenging curved drive over 500 metres long beneath a freeway and railway.
The CCF WA praised the project for “exceptional” engineering precision, highlighting the construction of shafts reaching depths of up to 27 metres, and the incorporation of two vortex structures.
The organisation also highlighted the safety and environmental stewardship of the project, which managed risk for the team, the public, and the national park.
The Earth Award for projects valued between $10m and $30m was claimed by DM Civil’s ATCO East Perth Power Station Pipeline.
This project saw DM Civil construct around 7.6km of DN250 steel high pressure gas pipeline in two packages, using a mixture of horizontal directional drilling, pilot boring and open excavation.
It was praised for “innovative” construction methods, which expedited the works and reduced the impact on stakeholders and the built environment.
Microtunnelling
Finally, the Earth Award for projects between $2m and $5m went to the Baldivis Stillwater Drive Type 350 Pump Station.
Completed by DJ MacCormick Contractors, this project featured custom fabricated formwork, with an integrated safety platform, which allowed working on each liner from the middle of the caisson up to the final pour height.
DJMC’s innovative approach included sacrificing entrance rings to prevent shaft flooding post microtunnelling, and a custom-manufactured pick attached to the clamshell excavator to prevent the caissons from sinking on an angle.
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