One of Australia’s biggest construction firms has been awarded the second stage of a project to remediate Melbourne’s biggest container terminal and to prepare the terminal to ensure that it can continue to play its role in supporting container trade into the city over coming decades.

The Port of Melbourne has awarded the Stage 2 contract of the Swanson Dock West Remediation Project to McConnell Dowell.

This follows McConnell Dowell’s completion of the project’s first stage in May.

Located on the banks of the Yarra River approximately three kilometres west of the Melbourne CBD, Swanson Dock West is part of the Swanson Dock international shipping facility.

With a total berth length of 944 meters, the facility has three container handling berths – each of which were constructed in several stages between the 1960s and 1980s.

Remediation work is needed as sections of the facility are either close to or beyond their typical design life of 30 years – which was the standard design life that was utilised at the time.

Surveys and inspections conducted in 2016 and 2019 identified that top sections of the landside timber piles have deteriorated.

That 2019 assessment found that remediation was required to avoid further deterioration and to prevent the risk of structural failure.

In addition to extending the design life, the project aims to enable the facility to cater for larger ships in the future.

The project is being delivered in three stages.

The first stage was completed in May and involved work on Berth 1.

The next stage is scheduled to begin this month and involves work on Berth 3. This is due for completion in late 2027.

The works will include:

  • Upgrading 50 tonne bollards to 100 tonne capacity
  • Concrete remediation
  • Sheet pile wall remediation
  • Installation of a new crane rail

The project is the sixth of which McConnell Dowell has delivered for the Port of Melbourne since 2017.

 

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