A guide to turning wasteland into parkland
Rozelle, a suburb in the inner west of Sydney, is known for many things: brightly coloured Rosella parrots, popular weekend markets, the ANZAC Bridge…and its urban dump.
In 2019, the New South Wales government commenced works to transform the wasteland area into a vibrant parkland for the suburb’s residents to enjoy, as well as a busy road interchange.
With experience working on many landfill projects, Advanced Piping Systems was contracted to supply a range of HDPE pipe and fittings to the project, which played a vital role in ensuring the site was safe for construction and future use.
Preparing the site for construction
As a former dump, a significant amount of work needed to be completed before construction could begin.
“Dump sites – even when they’re no longer in use – continue to decompose, producing hazardous methane gas and leachate that needs to be collected,” Nathan Craig, Director of Advanced Piping Systems said.
“This is because when methane interacts with heat produced by composting rubbish, it can explode and has, in some cases, been devastating.
“Given dumps are corrosive and unstable, HDPE, being so dependable, was really the only option.”
Initial site works on the Rozelle interchange and parklands involved remediating the soil as much as possible.
“To do this, a very large excavation took place to dig right down to the base level of the original dump and install 355mm mainline collection pipelines for both liquid and gas,” Nathan said.
“The site and waste were then reinstated with concrete piles right down to rock and stable base, so that the enormous intersection could be built, as well as the parklands.”
A unique offer
Advanced Piping Systems was contracted thanks to the unique offer the team could provide to the environmental contractor, Nathan said.
“We could provide pipe and standard EF fittings, as well as custom made tees that saved scores of fittings and installation time for the contactor, as well as providing the best possible overall package.”
For the project, APS supplied:
- 355mm SDR11 PN16 pipe, moulded equal tees and moulded reducing tees
- 90-degree sweep bends and 45-degree elbows; and
- 355mm electrofusion sockets.
Nathan said these products were ideally suited to the civil construction works required
“PN16 Piping was selected for its strong wall thickness, due to the compaction and ongoing movement expected under the environmental cap,” he said
“The 355mm Electrofusion sockets allowed for easy in-trench welding.”
Preparing for the unexpected
As with all projects, the Rozelle intersection upgrade came with its own unique set of challenges – but nothing the team at Advanced Piping Systems couldn’t handle.
“There are always time constraints and delivery schedules pushed back or urgently brought forward. But this is what makes our job interesting,” Nathan said.
“You should always be ready for the unexpected, and that’s what our team thrives on.”
As a testament to the team’s flexibility, adaptability and range of products stocked, Advanced Piping Systems received further work from other contractors involved in the project.
“As well as the products we supplied to the environmental contractor, we also went on to supply the Tier 1 contractor involved in the project as well,” Nathan said.
“One of the engineers we worked with on this project ended up moving out to a mine project, and was in touch with us to supply pipe, fittings, and fabrications on a tailings upgrade too.”
If you’re looking for a reliable and flexible HDPE supplier with outstanding stock availability for your next civil project, contact Advanced Piping Systems today.
