Holdfast Training Services Trial Blog

It is now starting to feel like we are constructing a rail line with rail now being laid from both directions. The stabling yard has been a RISI (Rail Inustry Saftey Induction) site for a few weeks but now the far eastern end of the track has now changed to a RISI site which means we are very much working to the rail timeline. The predicted rate of 400m a day means they will be at the Scalabrini and Dickson Rd sites within 4 weeks and Kemps Creek bridge will be handed over to the rail team by wed 22 May – the second bridge to be handed over out of the four.

Dickson Rd has progressed steadily but not according to programme, I think the programme was optimistic having now gained experience of how the site dynamic works between sucontractors, suppliers etc. We are at least a week behind on the abutment walls but have been able to carry out concurrent activity on the embankment retaining walls so may have gained afew days there. As we are expecting rail to be laid through the site about mid-june we have a tight schedule to pour both abutment walls and have brought forward the delivery of the PSC beams so that we can position them across the abutments therefore leaving the span area of the rail alignment free for rail to move through. Our focus will then be to pour the wing walls and the abutment retaining walls. We have just aout completed the scaffolding around abutment A so that the steel fixers can start next week. The outer parts of 3 of the embankment retaining walls  will b completed next wed with the wall stems to be poured. The fourth ERW has not yet strated as we are utilising the concrete blinded area to lay the 10m high shutters for the abutment walls. I hope that abutment wall A can be poured by the end of next week on Fri but realistically it’s more likely to be Mon the following week.

Kemps Creek bridge has now been cleaned up at waterproofed. Next week will see shock matting laid over the waterproofing which provides a bed for the bottom balast to be laid on which will also start next week. We still have a few bays of CSR walkway to pour at abutment A after placing the last remaining parapet sections which we should/need to complete by wed before the handover. We are handing over the site to the rail line but we still have few minor jobs to do but these consisit of access walkways below the bridge around the abutments and piers and access stairways.

We have now closed off Scalabrini bridge so that we can clear the 6 months worth of dirt off the deck ready for waterproofing following Kemps Creek. Defects patching work is also being carried out but we are now very close and completing three bridges with the remaining focus being Dickson Rd with an estimated competion of around Oct.

I am starting to notice the change in weather now as winter starts to creep up on us – the temp has creeped into single digits a few times in the morning but still tends to be in the high teens at its worst by lunch time. The main concern here is winter brings rain and as we all no rain in australia shuts down construction sites.