• Client: IDP MPC / TCCS
• Final Contract Value: $20M
• Completion date: June 2020

Overview

Gundaroo Drive Duplication Stage 2 involved the duplication of the single carriageway of Gundaroo Drive between Gungahlin Lakes Club and the Barton Highway to dual carriage way including the provision for on road cycle.  The scope of work also involved the widening and duplication of the existing bridges, adjustments to bus stop facilities, utilities and upgrading existing intersections.  Noise walls were also installed along majority of the road alignment for protection to residential homes.

Major risks included complex traffic management as Gundaroo Drive sees in excess of 40,000 vehicles per day.  Traffic management was, for the majority, managed in house by our experienced Site Foreman and a crew of trained traffic controllers.  CARE Traffic assisted with resources for Traffic Control during peak work such as traffic switches.

In addition to vehicle traffic, the project was surrounded by several footpaths, playgrounds and cyclist routes – many of which passed through the project and were to be kept open at all times.

Bridge works involved widening and duplication of 2x bebo arch bridges with associated reinforced earth retaining walls, as well as the widening of an existing plank bridge.

Downer EDI were engaged as the asphalt subcontractor for the project and in total laid over 15,300 tons of heavy-duty asphalt pavement.  Most of the milling and pavement works were undertaken under live traffic management, with some undertaken under full closures on nightshift.

Woden Contractors also completed the relocation, adjustment and installations of underground service and utilities within and around the road corridor which involved significant logistical planning and programming of work.  Community liaison was well managed by the project team which included noise and vibration monitoring and a complaint handling process.

The project underwent several active certification audits where no con-conformances or loss of sanction points were received.  Environmental controls for erosion and sediment control and protection of the floodway were constantly monitored with no major issues or incidents during the project.  In 2019 the project was awarded with the Master Builders Excellence in WHS for Civil award through innovation to the project programme that significantly reduced the overall construction risks and saved the client time and money.

At project commencement, Wodens identified that the bulk of the pavement works for the widening of the existing carriageway was to be undertaken using standard stop/slow traffic control methods and proposed the solution of completing the pavement work earlier than originally programed, to take advantage of road closures that were required as part of the bridge works.  Achieving this eliminated the high-risk construction activities of mobile plant and ground personnel working amongst public traffic – which significantly improved the safety for construction workers and the general public.

In addition to this, Wodens also identified the opportunity to re-design the pedestrian movement plan surrounding the project by proposing to construct a falsework catch deck underneath bridge 1274 to enable the existing footpath to remain open during the bridge works.  By doing so, Wodens eliminated the risk of having pedestrian movements re-directed elsewhere through the construction corridor, which would have resulted in open footpaths crossing through active earthworks areas and pavement construction.

This project was awarded the ACT 2021 CCF Earth Award – Project Value $10 Million to $30 Million category