Port Pirie City Centre Stormwater Upgrade

Project Overview

The Port Pirie Regional Council is undertaking various upgrades to revitalise the Port Pirie City Centre and its environs. Some of the initial upgrades included the improvement of the streetscape, the alteration of associated signage, improved branding and essential infrastructure, with the overall project being phased over three stages.

McMahon Services was engaged by the Port Pirie Regional Council for the first stage of the project involving the construction of a new trunk main underneath Florence Street, improving the stormwater system within the CBD. The project involved the installation of over 500m of stormwater pipes and pits to a depth of 3.5m.

The properties located adjacent Florence Street comprise entirely of businesses. Therefore detailed traffic management and works plans were required in order to minimise the effect that the construction of this drain would have on the businesses on this street and in the surrounding area.

The project scope included the following:

  • Resident/business notification and ongoing liaison throughout the construction process;
  • Traffic management;
  • Set out of works;
  • Liaise with service authorities regarding the protection and re-alignment of existing services;
  • Site establishment – offices and amenities, temporary fencing, hydro excavation, stormwater salt sediment protection;
  • Demolish and remove existing pavement layers and concrete kerbs as required;
  • Dewatering of existing stormwater infrastructure as required;
  • Management of groundwater including the required testing, extraction, treatment, monitoring and disposal;
  • Management of potentially contaminated soils and groundwater including required testing to classify the material/groundwater, and excavation, extraction, treatment, monitoring and disposal;
  • Demolish and remove existing stormwater drainage infrastructure;
  • Construct new kerb and driveway crossovers as required;
  • Trench backfill and pavement reinstatement;
  • Backfill behind kerbs, tidy and make good;
  • Reinstatement of line marking and signage.

Project Challenges

Significant water ingress to the trench required design modification to the pipe bedding material. Screenings were used to allow water from the trench to be collected in a sump and pumped into the live system via a second pump.

In addition, since the new works were still connected to the existing “live” system, rain events presented a challenge. This was managed by sectioning off the system where possible and not cutting into the existing system until late in the install while using pumps to remove water.

With the stormwater system being below or near sea level, water infiltrated the existing and new systems during high tides. This was again managed by sectioning the system and using pumps to remove water.

McMahon Services worked closely with surrounding stakeholders throughout the project to minimise works and traffic-related disruptions. The client was happy with the proactive manner in which McMahon Services responded to unanticipated issues on site and general completion of the project given the high exposure and impact on the local community.

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