July 12 2006
Laing O'Rourke (the new owner of Barclay Mowlem) and its alliance partners, RTA, Maunsell and Coffey, have won the Construction Excellence Award at this year's prestigious CASE Earth Awards, in a glittering ceremony held at the AJC Pavillion, Randwick on Friday 23 June.
The annual CASE Earth Awards, presented by the Civil Contractors Federation, honour construction and environmental excellence in civil contracting. The awards are presented in three categories dependent on the cost of the project. The Lawrence Hargrave Drive Link Alliance 'Sea Cliff Bridge' was entered in Category 3 (projects over $15 million).
The Sea Cliff Bridge is a civil engineering marvel, a 21st Century solution to the hundred year old problem of rockfalls and embankment failures on the section of Lawrence Hargrave Drive between Coalcliff and Clifton, north of Wollongong.
The entire project consisted of almost 1.4km features an Australian engineering first, the combined use of a balanced cantilever bridge with an incrementally launched bridge, and additional roadworks including a shared pedestrian and cycleway not previously provided along this section of road.
The 665m long Sea Cliff Bridge towers above the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean as it curves majestically around the headlands and outcrops of the Northern Illawarra escarpment. Not simply a means to reconnect separated communities but a hallmark of engineering excellence delivered under an alliance contract.
The owner of the road, RTA (NSW), is extremely pleased with the Construction Excellence Award. As a member of the alliance team the RTA, saw the community's acceptance of the project grow from initial reluctance into adoption of the Sea Cliff Bridge as an emblem of the Illawarra, an iconic achievement of beauty and grace in the industrial heartland of the nation.
The Excellence Award recognised the construction team's efforts to produce an exceptional structure, constructed in only 19 months, within adjusted budget allowances and with zero lost time injuries over the 285,000 man hours required to build the Sea Cliff Bridge.
As Premier Morris Iemma said at the official opening, the Sea Cliff Bridge is a spectacular landmark, now an award-winning symbol of Australian civil engineering excellence.
