Thiess Quarterly News, Volume 1, 2005

Project updateGeraldton set for earlyRevisions to the traffic management plan and constructionschedule means the Geraldton Southern Transport Corridor(GSTC) is now due to finish by end 2005.The original completiondate for the $88 millionproject, which involves thecreation of 4.9km of newroad, 13km of rail, fourbridges, and two tunnels,was forecast for April 2006when Thiess was awardedthe contract in 2003.But a revision of the trafficmanagement plan andconstruction schedule inFebruary 2004 saw theproject leap ahead withroadwork now due forcompletion by mid 2005 andthe railway to be installedbefore the end of 2005.Fast tracking the projectConstruction ManagerPeter Hopfmueller said thescheduled early completionis a great result for thecommunity and our client.“The construction teamreviewed the original programand came up with a newconstruction sequence thatwe thought would be the bestway to minimise disruption tothe community,” he said.“This involved building theBrand Highway Interchangefirst, and with the support ofthe City of Geraldton,we have been able to followthat sequence through.“The interchange is a keyfeature of the project and hasinvolved replacing the existingBrand Highway Roundaboutto assist with the traffic flowfor vehicles entering thecentral business district.“Originally we were goingto concentrate on buildingthe Waverley Street Bridgefirst. However, building theInterchange first has causedslightly more disruption butover a shorter period of time.“More importantly, changingthe construction sequenceallowed us to maximise ourresources in the first part of2004 and get the project tothe stage that it currently is.”Thiess meets clientexpectationsAccording to Main Roads’Community RelationsRepresentative TammyMitchell, the Thiess Teamworked hard to allow theinterchange bridges to beopened to traffic beforeChristmas.“It is a pleasure to work withThiess to ensure the worksare effectively managed, andenvironmental standards notcompromised.”Future worksIn finalising the project, futureworks involve completingfinishing works at theinterchange including theeastern side of the southernramp and sealing of thepedestrian and cyclist path.Following the recent openingof the Waverly Street Bridge,Geraldton road users can alsolook forward to the openingof the Marine Terrace nearPages Beach in March 2005,which will allow traffic to travelin an east-west route again,and the Highbury StreetBridge opening in June 2005.For more information aboutthe project, please visit theproject website – http://geraldton.thiess.com.au.The first car to travel over theBrand Highway Interchange.“I would like to congratulatethe Thiess Team for its ongoingcommitment to delivering theGSTC in an environmentallysensitive manner and with theleast possible impact on theGeraldton community,”she said.WA Premier Geoff Gallop atthe launch.6THIESS l quarterly news l VOLUME 1 l 2005