The Pilbara is the “engine room” of both the Western Australian and Australian economies, according to WA Minister for Transport Rita Saffioti. And that engine room is about to get a massive boost from the government.

The Federal Government is investing $565 million for port upgrades in the Pilbara. The government said the investment would help expand the export and import capacity at the Port of Port Hedland. Part of this funding will go to expanding the Lumsden Point facility. The project is in partnership with the Western Australian Government, which is contributing $96.5 million. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who visited Port Hedland with WA Premier Mark McGowan at the end of February, said the government’s investment would help unlock trade and investment opportunities, local jobs and help drive Australia’s net-zero future.

“Here in Port Hedland we see something like 4% of our GDP go through this port – it is a great wealth creator here in the Pilbara,” he said. “This will make an enormous difference.” “Demand is growing locally and overseas for clean energy sources and our government’s investment in the Lumsden Point expansion will help position Northern Australia to take advantage of the economic opportunities this demand presents,” Mr Albanese said. The government said the facility would support the growth of direct shipping services to the Pilbara. it would also boost capacity to export battery metals and import renewable infrastructure.

The first stage of works on the massive project will see the construction of two seawalls and a new causeway, which will connect the wharf to the proposed logistics hub. WA Premier Mark McGowan said the Pilbara has been at the heart of Australia’s economic strength for decades, generating wealth for the entire country and supporting thousands of people in employment across Western Australia. He said, “This port expansion will help to position Port Hedland at the forefront of the future green industries that will drive our state’s economy for decades to come.”

source: Daily Cargo News

What is Base Course?

There are generally three layers to consider when laying a new road. The top layer is called ‘surface course’ which is in contact with traffic loads, the ‘sub base course’ which primarily functions as a structural support below and the ‘base course’ which sits between the two. Base course are usually constructed out of crushed aggregate or HMA and provide additional load distribution and contributes to better drainage. 

Traditionally, base course is laid with a grader and a water cart. However, KEE has been working on an innovative alternative, that doesn’t just give a superior finish, but also offers better value for money.

How Does This New Innovation Work?

The new process uses a pugmill machine to mix granite or basalt with water, which is then fed into a paving machine to place the base course. The base course is then compacted with a roller to achieve the required density and level.

Although this method has been used before in Western Australia, this solution has only ever been used on a small scale.

KEE Basecourse recently completed two successful paver base course trials for South West Gate Alliance (SWGA) and a collaboration between the SWGA and Main Roads Materials Engineering Branch has given an opportunity for this process to be trialled on the biggest transport infrastructure project ever to be undertaken in the South West.

Trialling on the BORR 

The new Bunbury Outer Ring Road (BORR) is an $852 million project that involves the construction of a 27 kilometre, four-lane, high-standard road stretching from Forrest Highway near Australind to Bussell Highway, south of Bunbury.

Noel Martin Senior Pavements Engineer for the South West Gateway Alliance said, “Using a paver to lay crushed rock base course is a robust, repeatable, and more reliable process. We’re really happy with how the trials have gone and are looking to commence paving on our next project”.

The crushed rock base course will be used for paving on the main northbound and southbound carriageways across the majority of the BORR alignment.

The results of the trials were a testament to the collaboration between the South West Gateway Alliance, Main Roads Materials Engineering branch, and subcontractors including WML, Hanson Australia, KEE Group and Independent Quality Certifiers. SWGA comprises of Main Roads, Acciona, NRW Contracting, MACA Civil, AECOM and Aurecon.

Bunbury Outer Ring Road will deliver significant benefits to the region including time saving for traffic, vehicle and passenger safety, freight efficiency and improved port access. A significant portion of funding from the project’s $1.25 billion is being spent within the region, creating many local jobs and business opportunities and further supporting local economic growth.

Local Aboriginal Talent

The interchange at Paris Road and Clifton Road will welcome visitors to the South West as the traffic flows onto the Bunbury Outer Ring Road from Forrest Highway. The interchange will feature local Aboriginal artist Melissa Riley’s work ‘Djilba’ (meaning ‘spring’) which are featured on the panels installed at the project site.

The original concept for Bunbury Outer Ring Road was developed in the 1970s with the land for the southern section reserved for a Primary Regional Road in the Greater Bunbury Region Scheme.

The land was acquired as part of the process to subdivide land for the southern part of Gelorup in the early 1980s, when it was set aside for future development.

source: Main Roads Australia

The Base business is getting swift traction as our clients become aware of the difference in quality precision when conditioning through the pugmill. Led by the steady hands of manager Rait Sagor, our base course division is developing its technique with the addition of level machine control to the paving setup. This set-up ensures levels are consistently achieved providing efficiencies, minimising waste and eliminating any requirement for trimming.

KEE Base has been working with CPB at the Pearce RAAF Base to condition and paver-lay new base course material for the runway extension and hardstand areas.

KEE Spray Seal has acquired two new bitumen sprayers and two bitumen trailers from Matthews Brothers to add to the expanding fleet. The team has been very busy, travelling all over the Southwest and Wheatbelt areas, completing works for Bill Gibbs Excavations, Service Stream, Fulton Hogan and Stabilised Pavements Australia. KEE provided spray seal treatment to the shoulder widenings,  and completed stabilised patching and full road reconstructions on the Albany Denmark Road.

KEE Profiling has been fully engaged with our asphalt and spray crews on nightshift around the Perth metropolitan area. By using two x 2m profilers on the DM Roads Annual Resurfacing Project, they were able to maximise production on the Reid Highway projects. The crews were profiling, sealing and asphalting 3,000 – 4000m2 per shift, and reduced the program and public impacts by a whopping six shifts! Well done team.

Anthony Lee, KEE Surfacing