Joe Wagner Group was contracted by Fulton Hogan to deliver a drainage package for the Newell Highway Upgrade on an 18.4 km stretch from Mungle Back Creek to Boggabilla in NSW.
Work commenced in November 2018 with our crews working on multiple concurrent sites pouring cast in-situ recessed culvert bases and laying pipes. Due to excessive heat at certain times of the year, we negotiated with the client to start the pours at 3:00am so the concrete had enough time to cure before the heat of the day.
Extreme heat, heavy rain events with flooding, and the need for extensive traffic management on the busy regional highway meant we had our work cut out for us.
Even so, the project had some humourous moments. Our female concreter told us that the our client’s leading hands kept assuming she worked in traffic management or administration and were astonished to learn that she was on our concreting crew. It looks like some stereotypes still need to be broken.
We have installed single-celled to 12-celled culverts; precast and in-situ headwalls; poured in-situ recessed base slabs and topping slabs for bridges; and laid reinforced concrete pipes. Despite the challenges, we are set to complete the works on time according to NSW Roads and Maritime Services specifications.