'Badgerys Creek - and what we can learn from NSW roads'

Since moving to Sydney a short time ago, I’ve heard a lot about just how big the development of the new Western Sydney Airport will be.

At a recent Roads Australia luncheon with Craig Norton of Sydney Airport, we discussed the challenges that come with the scale of earthworks required for a project like Badgerys Creek.  I voiced a point of view that the distance materials must travel is key to minimising costs when working on projects where big volumes are involved. The shorter the distance you have to travel with each truckload of earth, the better the outcome. And then you need to know what you’re moving. Are there contaminants in the soil? Could its relocation cause future issues at another site? What are the geotechnical conditions you’re dealing with? There’s a lot to think about.

While projects of this scale don’t come along every day, the transport infrastructure industry does deal with large earthworks programs on a regular basis. Major road projects like the Pacific Highway Upgrade often require a lot of earthworks to get the site ready for what’s to come. When Coffey worked on the Sapphire to Woolgoolga section of the highway, about two million cubic metres of earthworks was required – and materials management was very important. We worked closely with Roads and Maritime Services and the construction team to develop alternative earthworks specifications to provide a more cost effective methodology for the project. Talking to our people who worked on this, it struck me how much detail goes into making good decisions to reduce the time and costs associated with these early works. And this will be just as important for Badgerys Creek.

Knowledge of local soil conditions, and the geological conditions of Sydney, will be important to get the most value out of these first stages of the airport development. But I believe that key to the Western Sydney Airport’s success will also be thinking about these challenges differently – and learning what we can from other industries. Those who can apply lessons from elsewhere – combined with local knowledge of the reality of implementing major projects in Sydney – will be the ones that can add real value.

 If this topic resonates with you, and you'd like to explore it further, I invite you to have a conversation.  Feel free to drop me a line at [email protected].