Our Epping Road Upgrade team partnered with local traders, schools and kindergartens to deliver Shop to the Top, a community-focused initiative designed to support local education while major construction works were underway.
Running for eight weeks, the promotion encouraged local shoppers at Epping North Shopping Centre and along Lyndarum Drive to support their favourite school or kinder with every purchase. Each dollar spent at participating retailers earned a point, which shoppers could allocate to a nominated school or kindergarten via a simple QR code entry or in-centre drop box.
At the conclusion of the campaign, the schools and kinders with the highest points shared $16,000 in funding to enhance educational programs, resources and facilities. Progress was tracked online and via a live leaderboard in the shopping centre, helping maintain strong community engagement throughout the works.
Shop to the Top coincided with construction of the final intersection upgrade on the west side of Epping Road at Lyndarum Drive, demonstrating the project team’s commitment to supporting local businesses and community wellbeing during construction.
Such was the success of the program, our customer is planning to roll it out across other major transport upgrade projects.
As part of the Epping Road Upgrade, the Wollert Methodist Church was relocated to enable road upgrade works at the Lehmanns and Epping roads intersection, supporting the preservation of an important local heritage asset.
The church had served the Wollert community for more than a century and was recognised for its historic and social value to the City of Whittlesea. Its Carpenter Gothic design, including timber cladding and lancet windows, was retained through the relocation to Carome Homestead in Mernda.
The relocation and subsequent restoration were undertaken by others in collaboration with the City of Whittlesea and heritage specialists. Following restoration, the church was reopened to the public and became a community asset managed by Working Heritage.
This outcome formed part of the Epping Road Upgrade’s broader legacy initiatives, aimed at delivering lasting community and heritage benefits alongside major transport infrastructure.
How's this for Creative Construction in action...a person-ridden kibble that delivers concrete safely down a very deep and dark hole!
The Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project in Far North Queensland, delivered by McConnell Dowell and John Holland for Genex Power, is a landmark renewable energy development. A key challenge was lining two 280-metre-deep, 4-metre-diameter intake shafts with no bottom access for works or emergency response. Conventional solutions such as concrete piping or craned kibbles carried significant risks, including working at height, suspended loads, and high-pressure hazards.
To overcome these challenges, the project team, in close collaboration with consulting engineers and Workplace Health & Safety Queensland, developed a world-first person-ridden concrete delivery kibble. This bespoke innovation combines worker transport and concrete delivery in a single craned unit, eliminating thousands of high-risk man-hours and removing the need for extensive temporary works. Virtual reality modelling, Safety in Design workshops, and rigorous proof testing ensured both safety and efficiency were at the heart of the design.
Since its introduction in early 2025, the person-ridden kibble has delivered concrete safely and efficiently, with no reported incidents. By eliminating high-risk activities and simplifying shaft lining operations, the solution has set a new benchmark for safety-led engineering in complex construction environments, reinforcing McConnell Dowell’s reputation for delivering creative solutions on challenging projects.
The innovation was a finalist in the 2025 Australian Workplace Health and Safety Awards. Check out our video submission below.
As part of the Epping Road Upgrade, we preserved important local heritage while delivering safer, more reliable transport for the community.
Building on the earlier relocation of the Wollert Methodist Church to Carome Homestead, our team reconstructed historic dry-stone walls along Epping Road, an enduring feature of the City of Whittlesea’s rural heritage.
Six dry-stone walls were rebuilt at various locations along the corridor, totalling 365 metres. Works included walls near Lehmanns Road, Pine Park Drive, De Rossi Boulevard, Craigieburn Road East and Rhone Drive.
After carefully dismantling the original walls to enable the road upgrade, specialist craftspeople rebuilt them using traditional dry-stone techniques and the original basalt stones. Constructed without mortar, each wall was reassembled to reflect historic methods while ensuring long-term durability.
These works preserved an important link to early farming practices on the Merri–Darebin Plains and ensured the area’s cultural heritage was protected for future generations.
At McConnell Dowell, safety is a non-negotiable principle at the heart of every decision. To strengthen our commitment to a safer, more empowered workforce, we recently modernised our Safety Golden Rule Requirements. This refresh simplifies and reinforces our safety culture through bold new visuals, clear messaging, and digital accessibility tailored to today’s diverse worksites.
The revamped program introduced high-impact signage based on international standards, a mobile-optimised platform for real-time access to safety resources, and a digital booklet for on-the-go reference. Mandatory e-learning ensures everyone understands the changes and their personal role in maintaining safety. Supervisors are now explicitly empowered to stop any unsafe activity without needing approval—highlighting our shift toward individual accountability.
Early results show stronger engagement, better rule retention, and faster access to resources. More importantly, the cultural shift is clear: safety at McConnell Dowell is not just enforced—it’s actively owned by every person, every day.
