Greater Western Water (GWW) has completed vital upgrades to an almost 100-year-old water main on one of the busiest streets in the CBD of Melbourne.
The project involved upgrading 250 metres of water main along Swanston Street in Melbourne’s CBD to meet the city’s growing demand for years to come.
GWW worked closely with the Metro Tunnel Project, Cross Yarra Partnership and the City of Melbourne to coordinate works with the construction of the new Town Hall Station and manage impacts on nearby residents, businesses, and city visitors.
GWW’s General Manager for Growth and Infrastructure, Ian Burton, said that delivering the upgrade now will reduce the need for work when Town Hall Station opens.
“Our pipes are built to last about 100 years, and this water main, built in 1928, needed a vital upgrade to serve Melbourne’s growing population.
“We always do our best to minimise disruptions to the communities we work in, and that’s why we’ve collaborated with other major projects in the area to coordinate works simultaneously, limit the impacts and protect the city’s heritage,” he said.
Completing the works alongside other construction projects in the area will reduce the need to disturb heritage assets such as blue stone pavements and curbs again in the future and the amount of time this part of the CBD experiences disruptions due to construction activities.
Melbourne’s underground infrastructure is complex, and building new pipes requires careful planning to minimise disruption to other assets and services.
GWW’s delivery partner for this project, AquaMetro, used techniques to reduce the work’s impacts on nearby trees and allow pedestrian access. These included slip-lining and pipe-bursting methods, which meant they didn’t have to dig many trenches to complete the work.
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