Level Crossing Upgrade – Red Hill, NSW

Henry Parkes Way is a major route between Parkes and Manildra. The level crossing at Red Hill required upgrading of the road surface and the rail components from the existing asphalt crossing which was showing signs of failure due to the significant traffic which uses it every day.

The upgrade involved extensive stakeholder management due to the location and requirements around the project. Coordination was required between JHRCRN, RMS, Council and residents as well as the community as a whole. Operating with RMS and Council, a temporary bypass road was constructed to allow the traffic to continue to flow during construction of the level crossing. The level crossing required a full depth track reconditioning with associated rail works.

The site was small with limited access and space available for the working of a construction site. Steep embankments wrapped one side of the road, while the temporary detour road was constructed on the other. This necessitated that the site be utilised in the most efficient ways possible, staggering deliveries to maximise road space, using extensive traffic management to allow movements of plant and people, residents offered relocation to reduce movements in and out of driveways, clear delineation of areas to separate people and plant and coordinating with Council and RMS to share road corridor for site movements. Further, the possession for the level crossing upgrade was broken into two components to allow a window for trains to pass through. This resulted in the full depth reconditioning being completed in the first window with associated rail works. This included rebuilding of subgrade, new sleepers installed and new rail. After a 6-hour window, the concrete in-situ component of the crossing was constructed along with road approaches and site tidy up, including drainage, etc. The crossing had an existing hump style effect on traffic as it passed over it. Once the road approaches were completed with the new concrete crossing, this hump was removed and created a smooth ride for vehicles and reduced noise impacts for nearby residents.

Lycopodium provided project management for the level crossing upgrade with involvement for approximately 12-months prior to the construction occurring. This began at the scoping phase and ended with onsite project management during the construction itself. The project required extensive stakeholder management, design management, procurement of all materials and sub-contractors, on-site project management, project documentation and approvals (internal and external), budget and cost management, community engagement and practical completion of the project. Lycopodium has an ongoing relationship with JHRCRN and has been involved in the project management of numerous level crossing upgrades and other projects on the CRN.