Results
Successful delivery of 13 soil nail and shotcrete retaining walls across the Seaford Rail Extension.
Optimised soil nail design reduced costs and improved program efficiency for the JV.
Retaining walls exceeding 15m in height constructed to stringent U3 steel trowel finish standards, with visual quality comparable to precast panels.
Project completed to a high level of technical, structural, and aesthetic performance, reinforcing Geovert’s reputation for complex infrastructure delivery.
Project
Solution
Early contractor involvement with the JV and Parsons Brinckerhoff design team to optimise soil nail design, reducing overall nail quantities without compromising safety or durability.
Sequential construction of soil nail walls using a top-down approach to match excavation staging across the rail alignment.
Deployment of up to four drilling rigs simultaneously, supported by dedicated shotcrete and steel fixing crews to maintain productivity.
Application of shotcrete to complex concave and convex geometries with precision finishing techniques to meet U3 surface finish standards.
Implementation of strict quality control processes to ensure all finishes met design and aesthetic requirements.
Project
Challenges
Delivering 13 retaining walls across multiple construction sites within a live rail extension program.
Retained heights in excess of 15m requiring robust soil nail and shotcrete solutions.
Complex wall geometries incorporating vertical and inclined concave and convex panels over 4,000m².
Stringent specifications requiring U3 steel trowel finishes on sloping faces, where tolerances were difficult to achieve compared with flat precast panels.
Coordination of multiple crews and equipment across parallel work fronts to maintain program delivery.
Project
Overview
Geovert was engaged by the Thiess and McConnell Dowell Joint Venture to construct multiple retaining walls for the 5.5km Seaford Rail Extension in South Australia, including two new stations at Seaford and Seaford Meadows.
After 4–5 months of early contractor Involvement, Geovert worked collaboratively with the JV’s engineers to optimise the soil nail design, reducing quantities and improving program efficiency while driving down costs. The project required the construction of 13 retaining structures using soil nails and shotcrete, including complex architectural finishes on vertical and inclined walls exceeding 15m in height.