A bridge two far!
Having spent most of my time last week getting stuck into the 47 drawings of Dickson Rd Overbridge I Have no switched my attention to another bridge. Kemps Creek bridge is an Underbridge which is the last structure that takes the rail line into the stabling yard. It is a 72m span which is about 80% complete but has sat idle for about 2 months as what I understand to be a ‘spartacus’ bicker occured as to who had the priority. The stabling yard won and so it is now time to crack on and complete the bridge by constructing the parapit walls. This is a view looking from the stabling yard end towards Glenfield with Eastwood Rd Overbridge in the distance. Both end appraoch slabs were cast on Thu and we ended up pouring to about 1755 where all works need to be complete by 1800 so we were cutting it fine – looks a little cloundy but it was still 25 oC. There are 46 precast parapit sections each weighing about 5T to be placed on the edges using angle brackets which bolt into the deck. Once these sections are secured then the walk ways will be poured which will cover the anchor brackets and tie in the parapit sections to the bridge deck. This has also been done on Eastwwod Rd bridge but as the brackets are effectively only temporary they didn’t seem to be strong enough, when the crash barriers were poured we had about 20mm movement on one section due to the weight of the concrete so that the bolts for the traffic barrier railing are now out of alignment.
West approach slab the day after being poured – the gantry’s in the background are the start of the stabling yard.
A view looking E from the stabling yard down the alignment – you can see Eastwood Rd in the distance which i near completion and beyond that Dickson Rd is yet to be started.
I have finished the AMS (Activity Method Statement) for the piling which now has a week to be passed around Safety, Enviro the superintendent, senior Project Engineer and Construction Manager for sign off so that the piling contractor can start next monday. The plan is that the piling will be complete within 3 days although we have a 1 day float before the easter weekend to complete. I managed to get hold of the borehole logs which were drilled back in mid april 2011 so fortunately around the same time the piling will take place. They drilled to a depth of 15m but the piling will only go to a depth of 8m and they are 900mm dia. The top of the pile cap will be a metre into the shale and then below there is a siltstone/sandstone mix. No groundwater was encountered which is understandable considering the dry summers here although the supervisor is convinced it will be a wet bore due to flooding they had in the area a few months ago. The rig is a Mait HR 130 which is tracked and due to the existing road providing a firm foundation it all seems to be straight forward with no issues perceived. Once the piles have been placed the civil team takes over for a few weeks to rip out the road and CSR (Combined Services Route) are placed so we will have a min of 2 weeks away from site I believe before we can finally trim the piles.
Dickson Rd Overbridge site (and my Ute!) – the bridge deck will be about 7m higher than current road level.
Eastwood Rd still has an opening date of 25 Mar which seems to be ontrack as the asphalt is now laid and they were finishing the walk ways on fri with line marking scheduled for mon. The final issue
that might scupper this date is due to the supplier of the throe screens that need to be erected. We still need to have a closed road in order to fit them but there is currently no work on when they will
be delivered. The supplier is from England and we are not sure if they are even in the country yet. If Eastwood is not complete this pushes back the piling of Dickson as we can not close Dickson as well
as Eastwood.
A big lesson learnt this week is site housekeeping and stores/material areas. We in the army have this drilled into us but by know means get it right all the time but it seems on this site if you you see
some reinforcement lying about and if you don’t get caught in the act you can help your self to a bit of it. I spent a good afternoon counting metal brackets and checking reinforcement deliveries which
we were all short and then learning we were the last in a chain of an organised pilfering scandal which means we are left with re-ordering half of what was ordered last month.
Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog 
Jon, do not underestimate how much gear goes missing from site. I found that there is virtually no accountability on the workforce and they will help themselves as they see fit. At one point I had to set up my own barricaded area with white mine tape and no entry signs to keep people off of my stores. As I learnt, if it’s not there when you need it (despite you ordering it, receiving it and signing to say as much) it is always the engineers fault!
The AMS is a pain and don’t trust people to pass it around…take the time to hand deliver it to everyone in turn as I found that they key players are too busy on there own agendas to help you out. A week seems a long time but it isn’t when one person in the chain holds on to it for too long or doesn’t respond fast enough. I eventually adopted the method of emailing it out to all and asking for comment by a certain DTG caveated with that if no comment was made by said date it would be assumed as being satisfactory. Then I printed it and got it signed by walking around the houses. This method worked for me and was effective in getting early engagement.
Seems like a good suggestion there from Roy. It will also give you opportunity to see face to face how various personalities on site operate (and you can always combine gaining signatures with the excuse that you are researching for AER 1).
Jon,
saw this on the JHG website – you seem to be driving the log on the East coast!
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Return visit to Leppington Station
21/03/2013 9:00 AM
Published News Item
Page Content
NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian made a return visit to the Glenfield to Leppington Rail Line project this week, holding a media conference at the Leppington Station work site.
Standing on top of the concourse, with emerging steelwork on one side and excavation of the remaining earth plug beneath Rickard Road Overbridge on the other, Premier O’Farrell said he was delighted with the progress.
“A year ago we were standing in a paddock; today we’re seeing the construction of yet another station on the 11.4 kilometre South West Rail Link,” he said, “since the arrival of Jon Bainger things have really picked up pace – what a guy!”
Minister for Transport, Gladys Berejiklian said she couldn’t be more pleased, or more proud of, the team.
“It’s amazing to think about the progress that’s been made in the last 12-months alone; these were just empty paddocks last year when we were here,” she said.
The visiting MPs were hosted by senior Transport for NSW representatives, NSW/ACT Region General Manager Rob Monaci and Project Director Malachy Breslin.
Project Director Malachy Breslin said: “We’re really thrilled with how far the project has come in the past year and will strive to continue the momentum and standard of excellence as the works continue.”
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Well done mate!