ResourceCo Material Solutions is playing a significant role in the construction of the new Mordialloc Freeway aimed at improving travel times and easing congestion in Melbourne’s southeast.
The $375 million Mordialloc Freeway project will see a continuous road connection constructed between Frankston and Clayton in Melbourne.
The nine-kilometre freeway will provide an uninterrupted journey from the Mornington Peninsula Freeway in Aspendale Gardens to the Dingley Bypass in Dingley Village. It includes bridges over wetland areas, grade-separated interchanges and a cycling and walking path.
In late 2019, the joint venture chosen to design and construct the freeway, McConnell Dowell and Decmil, began early works. To obtain soft rocks for the earthworks, the joint venture turned to ResourceCo.
It is part of the joint venture’s commitment to source at least 96 per cent of material and employment locally.
ResourceCo Material Solutions Chief Executive Officer Steve Harrison says the company was proud to secure a contract with Hanson Construction Materials for the transportation of high volumes of soft rock materials for the project, supporting the McConnell Dowell Decmil joint venture.
“A key factor behind winning the contract is our performance in terms of output, efficiency, reliability, safety and on-time delivery,” Mr. Harrison says.
ResourceCo Material Solutions is moving around 15,000 tonnes per day and will scale up to more than 20,000 tonnes per day during peak times.
“We can increase material output by using our ability to efficiently upscale production. This means we will build our operations from 90 to 120 trucks per day delivering materials from local quarries at Hanson Construction Materials and Boral, as well as suitable material we have sourced from local basement digs, to the Mordialloc Bypass,” Mr. Harrison says.
Soft rock materials are typically used for highway base layers to provide a foundation for the road to be constructed.
“ResourceCo Material Solutions has invested nearly $17 million dollars for 42 Performance Based Standards [PBS] quad vehicles, and we’re using some of these trucks on the new Mordialloc Freeway project.”
Mr. Harrison says these vehicles can carry up to 38 tonnes of materials per load compared to standard trucks, which are limited to carting up to 32 tonnes.
“By achieving higher carrying capacity, we’re significantly reducing the road transport footprint of the project, which is excellent from a risk management profile. In addition to our PBS quads, we also have hundreds of local subcontractor vehicles to assist in delivering materials as required,” he says.
“That access to subcontractor vehicles is crucial given projects often experience spikes in supply requirements triggered by unforeseen delays. It means we’re strongly placed to deliver project outcomes on time without an extension to original delivery timeframes.”
ResourceCo Material Solutions has demonstrated this capacity on significant past projects including the WestConnex M5 build in Sydney, where the company moved over four million tonnes of material in 24 months and scaled up its services to deliver 20,000 tonnes daily as required.
“The capacity to cart significant volumes of materials in a short amount of time, while meeting stringent safety compliance, is at the forefront of everything we do.
“It’s our priority as a business to ensure we meet and exceed compliance and chain of responsibility requirements at all times.”
To further improve its efficiencies, ResourceCo Material Solutions is using an electronic docket system which can monitor trucks live from phones, tablets or computers at any time.
“It’s about having a paperless data tracking system which also gives our clients access to the specific location of vehicles and provides greater transparency, assisting in more timely decision-making,” Mr. Harrison says.
The soft rocks supplied for the project will help construct foundations for the project’s six bridges, new entry and exit ramps, upgraded intersections and the new shared walking and cycling path.
The Mordialloc Freeway, delivered by Major Projects Victoria, is expected to be finished by late next year and it’s estimated 75,000 motorists will use the route daily by 2031. The project will aim to take around 13,000 trucks off local roads, returning those roads to residents.
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