We recently enlisted the help of the Wangaratta District Men's Shed to build nesting boxes which are to be installed at one of our Inland Rail worksites near Seymour, Victoria.
We are installing 24 of these neat nesting boxes before we remove some vegetation in the area.
The boxes are intended to provide new homes for many native bird, bat and marsupial species such as the Crimson Rosella, Turquoise Parrot, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo and the Phascogale.
The boxes are constructed of marine ply so will be hardy enough to survive the harsh Australian conditions.
The Wangaratta District Men's Shed volunteers were thrilled to be a part of the program and are eager to hear how the successful uptake of the nests go.
The nest boxes will also play a crucial role in an upcoming Melbourne University ecological study about the implementation and successful uptake of prosthetic habitats in native environments.
In partnership with our customer, Major Road Projects Victoria, our Epping Road Upgrade team recently visited Epping Preschool and taught the kids all about road construction.
The little apprentices then put what they’d learnt to work and started familiarising themselves with using (toy) excavators and assembling bridges with blocks.
The upgrade will benefit the preschool with extra lanes, improved walking and cycling paths, and new safety barriers right outside.
The road upgrade is expected to be complete in 2025 and will improve local connections and provide a safer and more reliable journey for more than 35,000 drivers.
McConnell Dowell completed the upgrade of the Pukekohe Wastewater Treatment Plant for Watercare.
In Joint Venture (JV) with HEB Construction Ltd, McConnell Dowell successfully completed the Pukekohe Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) Upgrade on time and within budget despite the challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The upgrade to Watercare’s WWTP involved converting it from a batch process using Sequence Batch Reactors (SBR) to a Continuous Flow Facility, doubling the capacity of the plant.
The project was delivered in two Separable Portions, A involved the construction of:
- Inlet works
- Activated Sludge Reactor (ASR)
- Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR)
- Return Activated Sludge (RAS) pump station
- Permeate tanks and chemical dosing facility
- Ultra-Violet (UV) disinfection system
- ASR electrical and MBR Buildings
- Interconnecting pipework and electrical works
- Access bridge, road works and finishings
Separable Portion B included:
- Decommissioning the old system, including two SBR tanks
- Construction of two Activated Sludge Reactor tanks
- Interconnecting pipework
The Joint Venture performed the pre-commissioning works and supported Watercare, who carried out the commissioning works.
All the work was carefully programmed so it could be completed safely within the confines of the existing site while the plant remained fully operational.
The team undertook extensive value engineering at the start of the project, which saved $2M for the client before construction started. During construction additional saving were identified by applying learnings from Watercare’s Biological Nutrient Removal facility at the Māngere WWTP which the JV had also delivered.
The innovations included using large diameter Polyethylene (PE) pipework rather than the specified fibreglass (FRP) pipe and knife gate valves instead of the ones specified which saved money and helped reduce the project’s carbon footprint.
Find out more about the
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McConnell Dowell working with the vertical building arm of the Group Built Environs, on the development of the Auckland International Airport Limited (AIAL) facilities.
Built Environs was awarded the Enabling Works for the WP2 Western Terminal Project in December 2022 and McConnell Dowell is completing the civil work scope.
The contract is part of the Airport’s infrastructure investment plan to combine the domestic and international terminals and provide for a future shift to mass rapid transit.
The civil work scope includes the relocation of the existing parking areas and the construction of a new trucking route for the western terminal.
General Manager Built Environs New Zealand, Greg Ford says: “This contract builds on other successful projects we have completed together such as the Puhinui Train Station. McConnell Dowell has completed several upgrades at the airport and their relationships, experience working in an operational Airport, and knowledge of AIAL’s systems and processes will be a great advantage for the team. We look forward to ‘working together’ in the spirit of our shared values on this important infrastructure project.
The team began the enabling works in February 2023 and is expected to complete this stage in the middle of the year.
For more information about the project, go to: https://www.mcconnelldowell.com/projects/auckland-international-airport
Our New Bridgewater Bridge 'Pre-employment Program' is in full swing with the second group of graduates completing the course recently.
The program, developed by us, funded by Keystone Tasmania and delivered in partnership between TasTAFE and Lifeline, targets people new to the construction industry. The week-long course delivered at TasTAFE’s Clarence campus includes units from the Certificate II in Civil Construction, as well as information about health and safety and a life skills session.
We've focused on socially and economically disadvantaged Tasmanians including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, recently arrived immigrants, long-term unemployed and those looking for a career change.
A project the size and scale of the New Bridgewater Bridge presents many challenges in terms of workforce capacity, skills, training and employment. Attracting and training new people like this not only helps the project but will also increase the long-term skills and capacity of Tasmania's construction industry.
Many of the graduates will be employed in the project’s purpose-built pre-cast concrete production facility in Bridgewater, where the 1,000 concrete segments needed to build the bridge will be produced.
Overall we'll be running four intakes of the program.
