Site Visit, Richland and Springfield - Report Example

Site Visit, Richland and Springfield Name Course Name Instructor’s Name Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The Purpose of the Project 3 Specific Project Objectives 3 Site Location 4 Site Geology 5 Project Description 5 Materials Used and Sources 7 Construction Method and Plant items Used 7 The management structure of the project 9 Safety, Environment and Traffic Management 9 Points of Interest 11 Specific Problems 11 Conclusion 12 Introduction Comprehensive infrastructure is the backbone of socioeconomic growth in any state or country. Following this essential fact, the Government of Queensland has embarked on improving the road and rail network within its state. The highly used modes of transport in the current times and across cities and towns around the world are road and rail forms of transport. The Queensland Government has realized that there is a gradual increase in population as well as the number of vehicles on their roads. For this case, in order to alleviate this problem of heavy traffic, the government has decided to improve both road and railway networks. For instance, the Darra to Springfield transport corridor stage 2 – Richland to Springfield Project is a $475 million project that the Queensland Government is undertaking to ease the traffic on their roads in the near future. The Purpose of the Project The main objective of this project is to efficiently and effectively improve transport network between Richland and Springfield. This on the other hand will increase travelling comfort and thus integrating socioeconomic status of the residents living in the two cities and along the highway. Specific Project Objectives To build a 9.5 km long dual track passenger railway line To construct seven rail bridges including a 900m long over-pass over the Logan Motorway Interchange from Eastern to the Western side of the Centenary Highway Construct new Railway stations at Springfield and Springfield Central To build an integrated bus and rail interchange at Springfield Central station Turning the existing two-lane Centenary Highway that is to the South of LMI into two southbound lanes through Springfield To build three road bridges To lengthen the on-ramp on the Springfield Parkway northbound to the Centenary Highway Site Location The site of the project is at Springfield Central Station that is in proximity with Orient town centre and Richland. The railway will run parallel to the Centenary Highway. According to the map, this site was selected because it is cost effective and has minimal effect or disturbance to the general public. In the same line of thinking, the project will be cost effective because there readily available land; the railway will run parallel to the Centenary Highway. Consequently, there will be minimal environment effect; for instance, there is an already running road. With regard to the population disturbance, residential estates are far from the road; therefore, the noise caused by vehicles using the road and the train that will be using the railway will minimally affect the residents. According to the project design, the rail bridges will be built over the existing roads and closer to the interchange. Despite the huge costs that will be incurred in construction of these bridges, the social and environmental costs will be minimized. From this discussion, it is evident that the site of the project was selected based on a balanced financial, environmental, and social costs evaluation. Ultimately, this is the best site for this project. Site Geology The site topography is not consistent; it varies from one place to another. For example, from the Ipswich Motorway to the Old Logan Road, the topography is wavy in pattern with a slope of less than 6%. To the south of the Old Logan road, the topography is comprised of hills. This slope is within the acceptable dimensions to build the railway line. It should be noted that, not only the slope underneath the railway line that should be considered but also the slope on the adjacent side particularly when the line is constructed on higher grounds. It is important to make sure that the elevations of the road and railway line are maintained at levels that will ensure ease of there use. Following this revelation, in order to maintain these levels, tremendous cutting and filling of the ground is a must throughout the entire construction. This is common and unavoidable in any road or railway line construction. Steep slope on the side of either road or railway line can result into a major environmental hazard due to erosion and thus can heavily affect the ecological functioning along that slope. In this regard, special and enhanced construction techniques must be used in order to avert this problem. Project Description The main objective of this project is to improve the road and railway network between Springfield and Richland. It is a massive project that entails building a 9.5 km long dual track railway line, seven rail bridges, three road bridges, railways station, and integrated bus and train interchange. The project site is challenging and hence requires modification to make it suitable for the construction of a safe railway line. Consequently, the railway line has to pass over the Logan Motorway Interchange from East to the West side of the Centenary Highway. The over pass railway line bridge must be constructed. Accordingly, the feasibility study established that it was economical to build an over pass bridge 900m long, and 15m high. In line with this, a total of 106 concrete beams and 26 concrete piers are required for the bridge construction. In addition to this, 6 other rail bridges will be constructed at various other locations. The soil slopes along the railway line will be stabilized where needed. The project also entails the construction of two new railway stations; on at Springfield near Woodcrest College and the second will be built at the Springfield Central station. Furthermore, the Springfield Central railway station will be located directly opposite Orion Town Centre to the west side of Centenary Highway. According to the design plan, this station will be 18m high. The entire design for this station took into consideration the anticipated future population growth. The Springfield Central station will be an integrated bus rail interchange station. The design plan also includes the modification of the two-lane Centenary Highway that is to south of LMI into two southbound lanes through the Springfield Parkway. Additionally, two northbound lanes from Springfield Parkway to Johnson Road and Carole Park will also be constructed. In the same line of construction, a southbound on-ramp will built between the Logan Motorway and the Centenary Highway. Consequently, Springfield Parkway northbound on-ramp to the Centenary Highway will be elongated. As already mentioned, three road bridges will also be constructed as overpasses over the Logan Motorway and Jonson Road. The Logan Motorway overpass will be 150 m in length and 122 m width and 6 concrete piers will be used in the construction. The design also shows that all public utilities that were at the project site have been relocated to pave way for the start of project construction. Currently, approximately all excavations have been completed with only about 10% remaining. Nonetheless, various constructions have commenced including the railway line with the entire railway network, the Springfield Central station and the overpass on Johnson road. Materials Used and Sources Railway line construction mainly uses concrete, steel beams and soil as the basic material. Given the fact that project site comprise of hills and irregular grounds, the soil fills was primarily and easily excavated from the project site. This was essential particularly in cutting the cost on materials. However, this process had an effect on the environment. The concrete and steal beams were used for moulding bridge beams and piers. Given the fact that precast concrete is stronger, cost effective, and require less time to make as compared to in-situ concrete, it was preferred and used. Slope protection slabs were made using the in-situ concrete. The bridge beams and piers were manufactured first by constructing formwork which was then reinforced and eventually concrete prepared from the yard poured into the formwork. Construction Method and Plant items Used Construction projects involve the use of different machineries, tools, and techniques in order to make sure that the final outcome of the entire project is up to the required and recommended standards. This particular construction project was undertaken on uneven ground and hence prior to any developments, the land was to be made even through excavation and filling. This bulk work demands the use of the five main machineries were used including the Truck and Dog, 623 Elevator Scraper, 627 Scraper, 25t Dump trucks, and Body trucks. These machines have the capacity to work at an optimum rate of 2000, 2800, 1800, 1000, and 500 cubic meters per day respectively. Currently, it is estimated that approximately 80,000 m3`had been excavated and moved. Accordingly, it is estimated hat about 10% of excavation work is remaining, for instance, around 70,000m3 is yet to be dug and moved. The road construction projected involved the use of four layers. The procedure used for embankment and soil stabilization started by laying the embankment foundation on top of the in situ soil. A bulk fill was then filled in the embankment foundation, the sub grade layer was laid on it, and finally the capping was done. Coffey Pty Ltd tested and documented the whole process. From our earlier discussion, we found out that precast concrete was used for construction of the bridges. In this regard, it was used in constructing precast concrete beams, piers and decks. The beams, piers and decks were designed in a way that they must fit in the designed construction. In this regard they were moulded off-site. In order to reinforce the beams, Super T girders 34m in span were used. The procedure was not time consuming and cost effective. In some instances however, in situ concrete was used in constructing slabs that were used to gird the slopes. For this matter, there were 29 headstocks and Headstock formworks were designed for this purpose. RPEQ engineers were tasked with this. Slopes protection was done by the use of galvanized steel bays that which were then reinforced on the top. The cover length, lap length, weep holes height and alignment were then checked. The used concrete was then cured for 24 hours prior to the removal of formwork. In order to establish the strength of the concrete, four tests were done at the point of construction. One of the tests conducted was the slump test that was aimed at measuring the concrete workability. The concrete compressive strength was checked using the Concrete Cylinders, for this case 1 x 7 day and 2 day cylinder were used per set. Consequently, the temperatures were also measured. The management structure of the project Different contractors were assigned different tasks in the project; the entire construction project used project alliancing. In this regard, different agreements were signed with different clients to make sure that the full construction is delivered within the stipulated time. The alliance that was used in this project was the TrackStar Alliance that was made up of the following construction companies; Thiess, Aurecon, AECOM and Queensland Rail. Each of these companies is tasked with specific construction portions, this project management format is effective and the entire project completion would be on time. Accordingly, because there are more than one participating companies, commercial risk management model was formulated to check and identify risks with regard to these companies. Open book of accounting was maintained to keep track of project finances. Subcontracts were also employed in this project, for example, soil related designs, earthworks and testing were subcontracted to Coffey Pte Ltd. The project was also divided into small and manageable projects, for example, building of bridges and overpasses. Each subproject had its specific engineer; also, these small projects were divided into segments. For every specific segment a team of individuals with expertise was assigned to complete the work under the supervision of the foreman. The quality assurance manager, health and safety manager, and procurement manager were always available to make sure that everything was OK and running smoothly. This management structure was effective and ensured timely completion of the project. Safety, Environment and Traffic Management In any transport construction project, safety, environment and traffic management are critical factor that must be taken seriously into consideration before the commencement of the project. Similarly, health of all actors in the construction is something that must be keenly observed to make sure that accidents are avoided or if they occur, proper medical action should be readily available. The whole project had a superb environment management techniques, for instance, the project designs and construction methods employed aimed at decreasing project’s environmental impact. For example, loose slopes were stabilized to make sure that there is minimal if not no soil erosion. Concrete slabs were made and used where necessary and also vegetation was planted in some places. Noise pollution was also throughout the project work. During construction near residential estates and commercial buildings, the noise levels was always monitored only allowing recommended noise levels to escape to these areas. At construction site, workers were advised to put on ear pads particularly when the noise levels exceeded 85 dB. Equally, noise prolusions reports were prepared from time to time to make sure that noise levels are maintained at favourable levels. The management of traffic was vital during this construction project. Railway overpasses that were constructed over existing roads posed danger to road users. In the same way, construction of other roads like Centenary Highway and Logan Motorway was catastrophic and hence the workers and road user were to remain cautious and alert all the time. In essence the construction work immensely affected the traffic flow. Sometimes the entire road or a section of it was closed to pave way for the construction work. In this regard, roads like Johnson road, Cobalt Street and Carole Park and Woogaroo Street were entirely closed. Consequently, according to the schedule, some roads were constructed at night n order to escape the traffic during daytime. The use of precast concrete piers, beams, and slabs in the construction of bridges made the work easier and faster for the constructors. Points of Interest This was a massive project and hence there were several compelling facts about it. The construction of 900m long and 15m high railway bride over the Logan Motorway interchange was an amazing reality. The modification of the Springfield and Springfield Central stations together with the improvement of the Centenary Highway are places that automatically catches one’s eye. The Springfield Central station integrated into bus rail interchange station. The modified two-lane Centenary Highway to south of LMI into two southbound lanes through the Springfield Parkway, and the elongated Springfield Parkway northbound on-ramp to the Centenary Highway are some of key points of interest in this project. Specific Problems Several issues came during the railway line and road construction. First and foremost, traffic management on the road under construction was an alarming problem. Maintaining speedy vehicles and at the same time keeping pace with the construction schedule was not an easy task. In addition, the construction work was also immensely slowed down due to adverse weather conditions. Furthermore, due to uneven ground, the project plans were continually modified. To manage impacts of the project to the community, the Community Liaison Group was established. First of all, CLG was tasked with ensuring that accurate information flow from the project managers to the community. Accordingly, CLG was to identify any effects that the project could have on community and to come with solutions to these effects. Conclusion Actually, I now fully believe that experience is the best teacher; the exposure I encountered on my visit to the railway line and road construction site, tremendously improved my know how in this area of construction. The main structures that amazingly sharpened my knowledge in the field of construction with regard to this visit were the construction of the railway line, road, overpass road and railway bridges, and ultimately the construction of the railway station. It was brought to my knowledge as to how feasibility study of a construction project is conducted and the final undertaking of the project itself. For example, how the designs are linked and based on the economic, social and environmental feasibility. Accordingly, I acquired skills, procedures and different methods used in stabilizing the slope soil in road and railway line construction and the tests carried out prior to using the In Situ concrete. There are different vehicles and machineries used for different purposes like excavation and filling. I was also exposed to different management skills in managing heavy construction projects, the different safety and health techniques involved, and traffic management plans and procedures used. Similarly, I learnt that big construction projects are undertaken by alliancing projects, for instance, different contractors construct different structures under the same big construction project. Contracts and contract administration was one of the most vital lessons that I learnt. Read More