Concrib is a construction company that manufactures, designs and installs a variety of engineered retaining systems. The Brisbane-based company has recently been awarded a contract by the Trackstar Alliance for the design, construction and certification of major retaining walls on the Corinda to Darra Rail Upgrade Project.
The retaining structures being constructed by Concrib for the project are concrete crib walls.
Crib walls are gravity structures consisting of concrete elements stacked parallel and perpendicular to the wall face to form a three dimensional grid structure, which is filled with gravel for most of the height of the wall.
Crib walls are typically battered at 1H: 4V. Crib walls offer efficiency of construction, especially in a cut situation. The walls at Darra are typically 3 to 6m in height and up to 190 m in length, with a curved face to match the track alignment. Some 1700 square metres of wall has been completed to date, out of a total of 2000 square metres.
The Trackstar Alliance’s contractor selection process was rigorous and based not only on technical and financial requirements.
Good emphasis was focused on the ability of the contractor to comply with the required site safety procedures in the civil construction arena.
Worker safety can never be compromised, and Concrib, in partnership with Trackstar Alliance management and site personnel has successfully addressed the issues of working at height, materials deliveries, excavation, set-out and construction of the walls with regard to all of these activities being carried out wholly within the rail corridor and in close proximity to 25kV power lines.