infrastructure-projects

Pacific Highway Upgrade, Woolgoolga to Ballina - Wave 2 Early Works

  • Location - Pacific Highway Whytes Lane to Pimlico, NSW
  • Completion Date - July 2016
  • Value - $11 million
  • Client - Roads and Maritime Services

On behalf of the Australian and NSW governments, Roads and Maritime Services is progressively upgrading the Pacific Highway to dual carriageway between the Hunter and NSW/Queensland border. The Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway upgrade involves the duplication of 155 kilometres to a four-lane divided road. The upgrade starts about six kilometres north of Woolgoolga (north of Coffs Harbour) and ends about six kilometres south of Ballina.

The Wave 5C Early Works package is part of the Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway upgrade. SEE Civil worked collaboratively with Roads and Maritime Services and Pacific Complete to deliver this part of the Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway upgrade.

The early works were undertaken in this area to ensure the required settlement could be achieved prior to major construction of the Pacific Highway upgrade commencing in the area.

Scope of Works

  • Soft soil foundation treatment across about 3.8 kilometres of the new Pacific Highway alignment.
  • Installation of around 320,000m of vertical wick drains
  • Installation of stormwater drainage
  • Foundation treatment using around 70,000m3 of drainage rock.
  • Construction of temporary pavements including an upgrade to the intersection at Whytes Lane and the Pacific Highway.
  • Installation of complex geotechnical instrumentation for soft soil settlement monitoring including vibrating wire, bored nested and standing piezometres, inclinometers, settlement plates, data loggers and hydrostatic profile gauges.
  • Importation of about 185,000m3 of earth fill material
  • Earth reinforcement using geotextiles and geosynthetic reinforcement
  • Earthworks were completed on a flood plain with acid sulfate soils identified throughout.
  • Installation of HDPE drainage pipes due to the presence of soft soil zones.

photos

Early works were undertaken to ensure settlement prior to main line works getting underway

A small drill rig was used to installed inground drainage

Early works required significant installation of soil wick drains

Significant ground investigations were undertaken to ensure settlement conditions were appropriate

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