Signature Project
Sunshine Motorway - Pacific Paradise
A $36.2 million project for the Department of Main Roads north of the Maroochy River on the Sunshine Coast. The project entailed the duplication of a section of the Sunshine Motorway and the construction of the on and off ramps for four new bridges.
This was the Company’s first R4 level project following the successful upgrade of its prequalification level to R4B3F6 with the Department of Main Roads in September 2007.
Work on the project commenced in November 2007 and was completed on time in April 2009.
The length of the road works is approximately 4km with the majority of the construction activities being carried out in “green fields” areas in a boggy, waterlogged marsh that was once a melaleuca forest.
The section of forest that had to be cleared was environmentally sensitive, as it was home to the rare Wallum frog (Crinia Tinnula). The clearing activity was carried out under strict fauna monitoring regulations with dozens of the Wallum frogs being successfully rescued and relocated to similar habitat areas nearby.
The poor sub grade conditions resulted in large areas being classified as unsuitable and thus requiring specific treatment, mainly through the importation and placement of large quantities of crushed rock, prior to construction of the designed pavement layers above.
Construction water for the works was “harvested” from temporary stormwater collection dams that were built in strategic locations on the site.
Extensive use was made of GPS survey technology, which not only provided greater accuracy in attaining the design cut and fill levels, but also resulted in significant reductions in waste and the potential overuse of pavement materials.
Over 46,000 tonne of asphalt of various gradings was used on the project, creating a flexible “black top” pavement that was 250mm thick in places.
Design changes were suggested by the Company and were accepted by the client. These included the under boring of two 1050 diameter pipes under the existing motorway. The benefits of which, were time savings to the construction program with reduced delays and risks to the travelling public due to the deletion of the required temporary sidetracks.
A 300m section of noise barrier wall was also deleted and replaced with a noise mound constructed using excess unsuitable excavated material, resulting in substantial cost savings for the client.