On day 5 of our Victorian Big Build Bridge Program, it is safe to say that Crowded House were right as Four Seasons in One Day lashed the project site at Kallibr’s training centre in Maidstone.
The day commenced under leaden grey skies that threatened an ominous day of wet weather that could put a serious dent in our cohort’s schedule as they prepared for the first day of on-site construction. With lifts scheduled throughout the day, it’s safe to say that there were a few nerves on display as our cohort checked the weather radar, which, to their dismay, showed plenty of rain on the way.
And the weather didn’t disappoint, with the heavens opening and a torrent falling accompanied by an unpleasant blustery wind. But quick as a flash, the rain disappeared and the sun came out, drying the site and renewing optimism that delivery of the bridge would take place on Friday as planned.
As the franna, operator and riggers arrived on-site, our team checked their SWMS, donned their safety gear and PPE, verified their exclusion zones, and prepared for their first lifts. For safety they ensured that minimal people were active on-site, communications and sight lines were clear and the process of lifting the bridge sections started.
With work progressing nicely – the occasional stop for rain aside, steady and safe progress was made as sections were lifted into place.
For today’s lunch and learn Sustainability was on the menu as MRPV’s Alexis Davidson and Arcadis’ Ken Lunty joined our cohort, sharing their expertise, knowledge, and experience with the team. From our tender presentations on Friday, it is clear that our cohort placed a significant emphasis on sustainability, focusing on ensuring that their project met their own personal expectations of material use, disposal and recycling in addition to the requirements of the client. A fantastic sign that our environmental future is in safe hands, reinforced by the presentation our cohort received.
Back on site after lunch, the team made fantastic progress with all spans successfully lifted in place. But in many ways that was the easy part of construction. Our structure has some elements that will be particularly time-consuming to locate and fix in place; with the cladding and deck set to be a challenge from a time and resource perspective. So, although fantastic progress has been made, there is still a long way to go and much work ahead.
For a presentation on design philosophy and history, we were joined by Tahmina Hossain from Arcadis who reinforced key principles associated with bridge design and discussed the history of structures and the evolution of design and materials over the years.
Our final guest for the day was Constructionarium Australia board member, Mark Fairweather, who visited the site to meet with the cohort and see how they were progressing. Given a guided tour by project manager Barack and stakeholder engagement lead Brooke, it is safe to say that Mark was impressed by the progress of the cohort, but more so by the enthusiasm they have for their project and the way in which they have whole heartedly thrown themselves into the Constructionarium Australia experience.
As the cohort reflected on an excellent day of progress it was time to catch up with Bentley’s Luke Read to go through their all-important cost and project controls reports. Are they on track? Time will tell and they were not giving much away, but there was confidence in the air that was the complete opposite of the gloomy start to the day.
