The largest temporary formwork system in the Southern Hemisphere was built to enable a large concrete pour in January for a Sydney Metro West railway station cavern.
Crews on the Western Tunnelling Package project successfully installed the seven-storey-high formwork (21 metres high) and weighing 315 tonnes. This acted as a temporary mould, enabling a 1941-tonne concrete pour to form the future Westmead station cavern’s 2.5-metre-thick walls.
With this stage complete, the Westmead station cavern – the tallest across the entire network – is now fully lined and stands approximately 26 metres high, representing an engineering milestone for the Gamuda Australia and Laing O’Rourke consortium.
The formwork and pour were the result of nearly 12 months of detailed planning, design co-ordination and collaboration across multiple teams, according to the consortium.
Several crawler cranes were deployed during formwork construction, while extensive underground works were undertaken to ensure the structure could be safely assembled and installed.
The operation was delivered in partnership with Altrad RMD Australia, which designed and supplied the bespoke formwork system, and Kenny Constructions, whose workers spent more than 8,000 hours on the task.
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia, at the helm since December 2013, and our weekly news writer since 2016. Focused on concrete and construction for more than 11 years, her expertise in this field forms part of a journalism career spanning three decades. To get in touch please email desi@corbettcomms.com