A precast concrete facility has been re-established north of Newcastle to manufacture 3.5 kilometres of segments for the Sydney Metro project.
The Buchanan Precast Facility previously operated as a precast facility in 2010 to support construction of the Hunter Expressway project, and in 2017 to support construction of the New M5 project. The facility will service the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport construction sites. It is located close to the M1 and will produce around 1100 concrete segments in total.
In March, CPBUI, the joint venture between CPB Contractors and United Infrastructure, which has the Surface and Civil Alignment Works contract on the Sydney Metro – WSA, poured the first precast segment at the Buchanan facility that will be in operation until December 2024.
The new metro railway line has six new stations and will connect the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and the new Nancy Bird Walton Airport with St Mary’s and the existing Sydney Trains T1 Western Line. Major works on the project include around 10.6 kilometres of embankments, cuttings, viaducts, and bridges for the above ground section of the project; 6.9 kilometres of earthworks to prepare the base for track formation; 3.5 kilometres of elevated viaduct between Orchard Hills and Luddenham; 205 metres of bridges, including a bridge over the new M12 Motorway; and earthworks for the Stabling and Maintenance Facility at Orchard Hills.
By the end of 2023, piling and construction of the viaduct piers from the Warragamba Pipeline to Cosgroves Creek will be completed along with construction of the M12 bridge. A roundabout will be constructed on Luddenham Road enabling a future access road to Luddenham Station; and the above-ground alignment south of Elizabeth Drive to the tunnel entry on airport land will be completed.
Image: Sydney Metro’s Buchanan Precast Facility.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is our weekly news journalist and the editor of Concrete in Australia magazine for 10 years. She has been heavily involved in all forms of engineering since 2013; part of a 30-year writing career across a range of subjects and media.