11th November 2014
The FKG Group were recently announced as winners, at the Queensland Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) Earth Awards for the Gore Highway Road Rehabilitation project (the largest Foamed Bitumen Stabilisation Project in Australia).
Mathew Quy-Verlander, the FKG Group, Group Manager – Civil said, “The CCF award is a prestigious, highly coveted industry award and this win represents an outstanding achievement for the FKG Group. The project has now been positioned as a benchmark and identified as industry best practice.”
Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) with funding from the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) a joint federal and state funded initiative (75% and 25% respectively) engaged the FKG Group to rebuild the highly trafficked, flood prone road asset (the Gore Highway) using Foamed Bitumen Stabilisation.
DTMR in collaboration with the FKG Group have utilised key learnings from the project to update specifications of several upcoming, road tender packages.
Murray Peacock, the FKG Group, Development Manager Transport said, “This was the first time a project of this scope had been undertaken in Queensland. We responded to non-conformances and determined how to perform rework without any historical data or consult from previous experience.”
The FKG Group and DTMR engaged in material laboratory testing to evaluate how materials would respond to future inclement weather events.
“The end result was a strong, moisture resistant road stable enough to carry 4,500 vehicles per day for the next 10 years and beyond. Due to the success of our environmental strategy and daily mission of “No harm to the environment” we were also able to recycle 25% of the existing road; helping protect the local farming community. As a result the DTMR have declared this project a green roads solution to be the future for roads in Australia,” Mr Peacock said.
A Foamed Bitumen Stabilisation technical engineering paper co-authored by DTMR and the FKG Group has been released to industry and referenced by industry members and vendors tendering for Foamed Bitumen Stabilisation projects.