Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Company Employed by the RTA for the Pacific Highway, Bulahdelah, Project

The company the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) used as ‘consultants’ and for environmental impact ‘studies’ for the Bulahdelah project is currently called Parsons Brinkerhoff Australia Pty. Ltd. (PB). Said company has had various other names: Pak Poy and Kneebone; Rust PPK (‘Rust’); and PPK Environment and Infrastructure (PPK).

In November, 1996, the company, as Rust PPK, was employed as consultants undertaking the development of a draft Environmental Impact Statement on a second airport for Sydney. In a publication titled ‘Sydney’s second airport proposal’, which was in relation to options which were to be looked at in the Environmental Impact Statement and was circulated to the southern Sydney community and other groups, ‘Rust’ put at least three Sydney suburbs in the wrong location. Numerous complaints were made by the public regarding Rust PPK’s performance. These included protests that there was insufficient community consultation by ‘Rust’ and that the company failed to provide the community with enough early information. (Ref.: http://www.aph.gov.au/hansard/senate/commttee/s7186224.pdf – accessed 30th June, 2008.)

And, as Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB), the same company was the firm engaged to design the *Lane Cove Tunnel project. (Ref.: page 7 of the WorkCover Report:
http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/C9E17E73-6847-469B-BC10-A4024ED9EFE2/0/lane_cove_tunnel_construction_site_investigation_report_4821.pdf)

From the Bulahdelah Upgrading the Pacific Highway Environmental Impact Statement Volume 6 Technical Paper 11: 4.6 Embankments

'4.6.1 Settlement Assessment in Fills

Settlement along the fills can be critical where embankments are constructed on soft compressible soils and there is a risk that primary consolidation settlement would continue beyond the construction period. Combined with secondary (creep) consolidation of the soft soils and internal creep of the fill material itself, settlement has the potential to exceed design criteria, particularly between structures and adjoining embankments.

Critical settlement locations were identified at structures, at maximum fill embankment height and/or at soft soil foundations. In all locations except at the northern interchange, the maximum fill height and critical foundation soils occurred at a structure.

At the northern interchange the maximum approach embankment heights are not located at the overpass bridges.

Settlement is expected to be most critical at the Myall River Bridge where embankments are high and soft soil was encountered to depths of 4.7 metres at borehole locations.

The adopted performance criteria for evaluating settlements have been based on that [sic] adopted for recent Pacific Highway Upgrade Projects such as Yelgun to Chinderah, and [bold, red typeface added for emphasis] *Lane Cove Tunnel.'

*A section of the Lane Cove Tunnel collapsed in the early hours of 2nd November, 2005. According to the Executive Summary (page 4) of the WorkCover Report into the Lane Cove Tunnel Collapse and Subsidence (March, 2006) Contributing Factors included (but were not limited to) the geological conditions at the site.
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The following information is from just one brief web search (on 23rd July, 2008):-

This post initially published: 23rd July, 2008.

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