“It is great to see that the industry has acknowledged the delivery team’s work on this significant project. As part of this, Coffey is proud to have delivered the specialist geotechnical, environmental and other specialist project skills that contributed over the last four years to the Gateway Upgrade Project.”
According to Infrastructure Australia Chairman, Mark Birrell the project was judged as the best project of the past year because of its iconic status, its engineering brilliance and sheer scale.
“At $2.12 billion, it is the most significant road project completed in Australia in the past year.
“The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridges are a vital economic asset for the state and critically important route for both freight and commuters.
“Brisbane and South East Queensland are facing some of the most significant population growth in Australia; meaning that this project makes a massive contribution to easing congestion and smoothing freight efficiency through Brisbane.
“Despite its scale and complexity, the Gateway Upgrade Project was delivered on budget and seven months ahead of time.
“This project will provide significant benefits for Queensland for decades to come – boosting Gross Regional Product by $683 million contribution per year.
“I congratulate Queensland Motorways, the Queensland Government and the Leighton-Abigroup Joint Venture project team on the outstanding outcomes of this project,” he said.
Media contact
Angela James, Manager, External Communications, Coffey International Limited
P: (+61) (2) 8404 4415; M: (+61) 42 8 905 573; E: angela_james@coffey.com
About Gateway Upgrade Project (The Sir Leo Hielscher Bridge South)
In 2006 the Leighton-Abigroup Joint Venture commenced work on the Gateway Upgrade Project for the Queensland Government and Queensland Motorways. The project involved bridge duplication, a new shared pedestrian and cycle path, construction and upgrading of 24 kilometres of the Gateway Motorway with improved access to Kingsford Smith Drive and Brisbane Airport, refurbishment of the existing Gateway Bridge and maintenance of the facility over a 10 year period. On the southern section of the project, the 16km of road was widened within cuts and fills, with several new on and off ramp connections onto arterial roads. The northern section includes new fill embankments up to 10m in height with associated connections to existing roads. This section was constructed over soft alluvial deposits of up to 22m in thickness requiring detailed ground treatments to meet the project requirements. The project also included the construction or modification of 33 other bridges.
The Leighton-Abigroup Joint Venture was supported in project delivery by a team of designers, construction specialists and related project support expertise. These companies include: AECOM, SMEC, Coffey Geotechnics, Cardno, VSL Australia, Sinclair Knight Merz, Conneq, and Heggies Australia .
Coffey Geotechnics brought a range of specialist services to the project, including:
- geotechnical design for the new Gateway bridge and minor bridge foundations
- assessment of cuttings and fill embankments
- singular soft soil treatments, including assessment of settlement and stability
- geotechnical assessment of retaining walls
- pavement design
- temporary works designs
- construction advice relating to all of the above, including assessment of soft soil treatment performance.
About Infrastructure Partnerships Australia Awards
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia – the nation’s peak infrastructure sector body – holds the National Infrastructure Awards annually. The awards recognise excellence across a number of areas, including construction, financial procurement and operation and maintenance, The Project of the Year prize honours a major project completed in the past 12 months that best embodies the term ‘nation-building’, incorporating the best innovation and use of technology and making a significant contribution to the state or national economy.
Project of the Year must also meet all time, cost and safety targets, as well as achieving a high level of stakeholder satisfaction.
