FROM the smallest of regional towns to the bustling Port of Melbourne, communities of all sizes have benefited from the innovative projects which have won the state section of this year’s Case Earth Awards.
Among the winning entries were a project that brought a modern sewerage system to two small towns, and a project that has alleviated traffic congestion in a busy suburb. Judges were impressed by the extraordinary commitment to the environment and construction excellence demonstrated by the local construction industry.
State winners in the construction excellence and environmental excellence categories of this national awards program were announced in August. Executive director of the Victorian branch of the CCF, Bob Seiffert, said the quality of the entries had continued to improve as the awards matured.
“The Case Earth Awards have shown considerable growth in both the number and quality of submissions. This upward trend is supported by the increased involvement and attention being paid to the Awards by infrastructure client groups throughout Victoria.
“An initiative to align Monash University engineering undergraduates with the contractors entering submissions has proven very successful this year. The students were required, as part of their assessment tasks, to work with the contractor gaining practical experience of the industry and also to assist contractors to develop their Case Earth Awards submissions. We’re delighted the students have been exposed to such inspiring projects.
“This year’s projects demonstrated very strongly that our industry is willing and able to deliver projects which are timely and economical but still place due value on our natural environment.”
Pollution control
Category winners of the Victorian Case Earth Awards for Environmental Excellence were the paving and pollution control works at Wharf 6 at Yarraville; the Envirosafe water system in Newstead and Dunolly; and the southern section of Melbourne’s Craigieburn Bypass.
In the Construction Excellence division, winners were the Otway Gas Microtunnel project and a project to upgrade Melbourne’s Narre Warren Cranbourne Road.
Morverk Constructions, of Melton, won an Earth Award for paving and pollution control works on the No 6 Wharf at Yarraville which have helped control site runoff and deal with spills.
The wharf is used for the importation of bulk goods including fertilisers and various chemicals. The project was designed to appropriately deal with surface runoff and containment of materials spilled during handling.
Morverk upgraded drainage on the site and paved/surfaced to improve access as well as helping to control runoff. The site contours were altered so that runoff was directed away from the edge of the wharf to collection pits.
Kangaroo Flat contractor, McClure Earthmoving’s, Case Earth Award-winning Envirosafe Project brought a township sewerage system to Newstead and Dunolly. Previously, the towns’ raw sewerage had been collected in septic tanks on individual properties, while grey water was diverted to table drains or onto properties, leaching chemicals into the ground.
Constructing sewerage systems in small towns has traditionally been a very expensive exercise, but McClure kept costs down through innovative methods and careful planning. A modified sewerage reticulation system included the use of plastic maintenance and terminal shafts, and a reduced number of pumping stations, possible thanks to the use of larger diameter pipes with flatter grades.
Fences and fauna
Abigroup, of Hawthorn, in conjunction with VicRoads delivered the first stage of Melbourne’s Craigieburn Bypass. The bypass will become a major road in northern Melbourne.
The first section – the southern section – stretches four kilometres from the Metropolitan Ring Road in Thomastown to Cooper Street in Epping. A project environmental strategy ensured that the construction did not unduly impact on the environment.
Maddington, WA-based MacCormick Civil Engineering earned a Case Earth Award for a project which brought microtunnelling retraction methodology to the southern hemisphere for the first time on a project which will secure gas supplies to Australia.
The Otway Gas Project relates to the development of condensate fields off the south western coast of Victoria (the Otway Basin). MacCormick used a microtunnelling retraction system to install a 1,200 mm outside-diameter casing around the gas pipe.
McConnell Dowell of East Burwood won a 2005 Case Earth Award for a project which has set new benchmarks in rail bridge construction while delivering a vital upgrade to a busy road and rail interchange. Narre Warren Cranbourne Road is a major north-south route in the City of Casey, about 40 km south east of Melbourne’s CBD.
2005 Case Earth Award Winners, Victoria
Environmental Excellence – Category 1, project up to $2 million
Winner: No 6 Wharf, Yarraville
Contractor: Morverk Constructions
Client: Port of Melbourne Corporation
Environmental Excellence – Category 2, project between $2 million and $10 million
Winner: Envirosafe Project
Contractor: McClure Earthmoving
Client: Coliban Regional Water Authority
Environmental Excellence – Category 3, project over $10 million
Victorian Winner: Craigieburn Bypass (Southern Section)
Contractor: Abigroup
Client: VicRoads
Construction Excellence – Category 2, project between $2 million and $10 million
Winner: Otway Gas Project
Contractor: DJ and MB MacCormick Civil Engineering Contractors
Client: Woodside Energy
Construction Excellence – Category 3, project over $10 million
Winner: Narre Warren Cranbourne Road Duplication and Grade Separation Project
Contractors: McConnell Dowell Constructors
Client: VicRoads