Western Australia was highlighted as being at the forefront of innovation and technology in infrastructure at an industry event facilitated by the Civil Contractors Federation WA today. Innovations in civil construction are improving the safety of workers, reducing travel times and contributing to positive environmental outcomes.

Manufactured aggregates, innovative traffic management applications and Perth’s Smart Freeway network all featured with several Western Australian and Australian firsts.

Manufactured aggregate is a product which will be produced from the Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) resulting from the Avertas Waste to Energy (WTE) plant in Kwinana – Australia’s first large scale waste to energy facility. The WTE facility will process household waste ordinarily disposed of at landfill and convert it into electricity.

Blue Phoenix Group will transform IBA minerals into safe and reliable aggregates which can be used in civil construction works as a replacement for primary material, such as road base. Blue Phoenix Group’s site development in Kwinana is the first IBA processing facility in Australia.

Perth’s first Smart Freeway Network went live in August 2020 and has reduced congestion on the Kwinana freeway, saving an average travel time of five minutes on the Smart Freeway section despite a 13 per cent increase in traffic since the onset of COVID-19.

The project included technologies of Stopped Vehicle Detection (SVD), Lane Use Management Signs (LUMS), Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), and Automatic Incident Detection (AID) which uses a combination of radar and thermal units to detect incidents and obstructions to traffic in real time – another Australian first.

In the traffic management space, products and devices such as mobile barrier systems, combined traffic lights and booms, and auto cone trucks are being adopted in an effort to save lives, including those of traffic controllers.

CCF WA CEO Andy Graham said it was pleasing to see WA pioneering innovation and technology in civil construction.

“There is some great work happening through Main Roads relationship with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council and a lot of good work going on through the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, the waste reform advisory group and the construction and demolition reference group, as well as a highly successful Smart Freeway project now being extended to the Mitchell Freeway southbound.”

Presenters included Blue Phoenix Group South East Asia Managing Director Ian Lynass, Kwinana WTE Project Operations and Maintenance Director for Macquarie Capital Alan Jones, Managing Director of JDN Consulting and Engineering Solutions and Director of Prizstine Consulting Jason Gavranic, and President of the Traffic Management Association of Australia and Managing Director of WARP Group Stephen O’Dwyer.

The event was sponsored by W.A. Limestone, Construction Training Fund and Kais Hire.