Setting New Standards for Roads
Alternative materials included:
- Steel reinforcement containing 90% recycled material
- Recycled crushed concrete instead of virgin aggregate products
- E-Crete, a zero cement concrete which substitutes geopolymers made from waste products for the Portland Cement component
- 100% recycled high-density polyethylene plastic pipe, substituted for normal concrete drainage pipes at a number of locations
- Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA), which has a longer life span and can be placed directly over the existing surface
VicRoads’ environmental specifications have benchmarked the West Gate Freeway Upgrade Alliance Project’s sustainable initiatives as the new standard.
The Alliance set out to monitor and minimise the project’s carbon footprint from the early planning stages. Key to this was maximising the reuse of waste products generated and using low embodied energy products.
Overall, the project’s carbon footprint was reduced by 34 per cent. This was achieved by targeting materials, an aspect of construction with the largest carbon emissions. Using alternative steel, concrete, aggregates and asphalt products has contributed to changes in our client VicRoads’ specifications, promoting their wider use across the construction industry.
Contaminated soil, where assessed as not posing a public risk, was turned into urban design mounds, adding to the visual amenity of the project. It also avoided using 87,000m3 of landfill space, eliminating more than 12,000 truck movements on public roads and reducing fuel consumption by about 1,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
