Canberra Hospital Expansion Project

Canberra ACT

Background

ACT Health commissioned the construction of the Canberra Hospital Expansion Project (CHEP), including the construction of a new, 9-level hospital building, to increase the health services to the growing ACT community. Additional services include a new helipad, 200 beds, radiology and medical imaging, new emergency department facilities and operating theatres.

Scope

D&N has worked closely with the head contractor for the works, Multiplex, to carry out geotechnical investigations for the project during 2021. Further, Multiplex commissioned D&N to carry out design of shoring systems for the basement excavations and permanent batters. D&N further functioned as part of the inter-disciplinary team and assisted with design review of eventual Design-and-Construct works. D&N assisted with construction stage geotechnical surveillance, including bored pile verification for shoring piles, foundation piles, and tower crane piles.

Challenges

The geological conditions across the site were significantly variable, with weathering patterns leading to unpredictable changes in the retained material and foundation material. This variability challenged the design and required significant construction stage oversight to verify that conditions were in accordance with the design assumptions. D&N assisted Multiplex and subcontractors with temporary stability assessments of adversely jointed rock slopes for equipment installation, using a risk-based approach, which provided significant cost and time savings to the project.

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