Westgate Bridge Update: Completed Project

Following three years of hard work, McElligotts is proud to announce that the West Gate Bridge repainting and remediation project is now complete. 

This massive project on one of Victoria’s most iconic structures began in 2019, when our team was contracted by CPB Contractors on behalf of VicRoads/Department of Transport to abrasive blast and repaint 60,000 square metres of steel along the bridge’s 800-metre-long steel deck. 

The scope of the project saw our team removing and containing the existing lead paint, erecting profiles for strengthening carbon fibre and steel to be attached, and abrasive blasting the structure. The team then went to work repainting the entirety of the bridge’s steel underside using high-quality products from Dulux Protective Coatings.

As the bridge hadn’t seen a full repaint since it opened in 1978, McElligotts made certain that all the coatings were applied in strict accordance with the detailed specification to promote the long term preservation of one of  Melbourne’s great industrial landmarks. The West Gate Bridge provides a vital link between the city’s CBD and western suburbs and carries approximately 250,000 vehicles per day. It is the fifth longest bridge in Australia, at a staggering 2.5 kilometres in length. 

In total, we used approximately 55,000 litres of paint to complete the project. For such a monumental task, we looked to Dulux Protective Coatings as our choice of product supplier for the job.

The Process: 

Our team began with abrasive blasting the underside of the bridge’s steel deck until it was returned to raw steel. Using access platforms to reach different sections of the bridge, our team worked through strong winds at great heights to then repaint the bridge, section by section. At its peak, our team was working 55 metres above the Yarra River. 

The specified coating system required the application of 4 coats of Dulux paint with stripe coating between coats. This is an additional coat of paint over and above the traditional three coat system normally specified in accordance with the Australian standards. Stripe coating is an essential method of detailed application of each coat to the 120,000 bolts of the bridge structure. This process is critical to the long-term durability of the protective coating system.

We are incredibly proud of the work our team has achieved on this massive project. Thanks to their hard work and commitment to doing the best job possible, this Melbourne landmark is now ready to face the next 40 years. 

Project Update: 2019

The West Gate Bridge is the fifth longest bridge in Australia, at a staggering 2.5km in length. Our job was to repaint the 848m long central section of the bridge, which amounted to roughly 80,000 square metres of steel. In total, we used approximately 55,000 litres of paint to complete this immense job which cost $65 million.

With our work being conducted on platforms roughly 50m above the ground and Yarra River, the 30 McElligotts team members have had to endure heights and harsh weather conditions in undertaking this immense project.

Project Update: August 2021

The West Gate Bridge is the fifth longest bridge in Australia, at a staggering 2.5km in length. Our job was to repaint the 848m long central section of the bridge, which amounted to roughly 80,000 square metres of steel. In total, we used approximately 55,000 litres of paint to complete this immense job which cost $65 million.

With our work being conducted on platforms roughly 50m above the ground and Yarra River, the 30 McElligotts team members have had to endure heights and harsh weather conditions in undertaking this immense project.

Project Update: 2019

Back in 2019, McElligotts had the pleasure of working on the iconic Westgate Bridge connecting Melbourne’s CBD to the western suburbs. That original project saw our team removing and containing the lead paint, erecting profiles for strengthening carbon fibre and steel to be attached, and abrasive blasting the structures. Since then, our team has been hard at work abrasive blasting and repainting the entirety of the 55,000 sqm underbelly of the bridge.

The project was for CPB Contractors, on behalf of VicRoads/Department of Transport. Since the bridge hasn’t seen a full repaint since it opened in 1978, McElligotts wasn’t going to cut any corners for completing this project on one of Melbourne’s great industrial landmarks. That’s why we chose Dulux Protective Coatings as our choice of product supplier for the job.

Our team began with abrasive blasting the underside of the bridge’s steel deck until it was returned to raw steel. Using access platforms to reach different sections of the bridge, our team worked through strong winds at great heights to then repaint the bridge, piece by piece.

We chose to incorporate a four-part + stripe coat system for the repainting. This means that we used four different coats of paint while applying extra coats to any bolts, edges, wedges, or nuts that were present. The four paints that we ended up using, in order from the first coat to the fourth coat, were Zincanode 402, Durebild STE, Durebild STE MIO, and Weathermax HBR MIO. This process will ensure that the paint has a long lifespan and has a high build finish.

At McElligotts, we are incredibly proud of the work our team has achieved on this massive project. Thanks to their hard work and commitment to doing the best job possible, this Melbourne landmark is now looking ready to take on the next few decades.

Mine Entrance Way

The McElligotts Queensland team was engaged to provide remedial construction services to the entrance way of a mine in the Mackay area.

The entrance way had to be transported to McElligotts’ Mackay yard and lifted into the igloo by a crane. Weighing in at 18 tonnes, its dimensions are 6m high, 5m wide, and 10m long, making it a significant structure that required careful handling to get it to our yard.

After putting the mine entrance way in place, the team began abrasive blasting the structure to clean it of its old coating and any contaminants that had formed. Afterwards, they painted the structure using a primer and protective coating of paint. The mine entrance way was painted using two colours, with the outside being painted white, and the inside being painted green.

Mine Entrance Remediation

Overall, this project took our team four days to complete. It is essential for a mine entrance way to be well-maintained over a long period of time. The McElligotts team were proud to assist in bringing this mine entrance way back to its highest standard.

It was an exciting opportunity, and McElligotts was able to play a key part in assisting both the mining and construction industry of Mackay, and its surrounding regions.

 

Wivenhoe Dam Unit 1 Refurbishment 

McElligotts Queensland were contracted by Queensland Government-owned energy generator and retailer, CleanCo Queensland, to provide refurbishment work to Unit 1 of the Wivenhoe Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Power Station situated at the Wivenhoe Dam. This project was part of the $14 million overhaul to Queensland’s only pumped hydro power station which plays a critical role in providing a reliable, low-emissions energy supply for Queensland.

The importance of keeping the Wivenhoe Power Station up to standard was highlighted when an incident at the coal-fired Callide Power Station in May 2021 placed significant strain on Queensland’s energy network.  During this time, the Wivenhoe Power Station increased its operations to generate up to 530MW over continuous four-hour period. This ensured a continued supply of energy to hundreds of thousands of Queensland homes and businesses.

The McElligotts team worked on Unit 1 of the Wivenhoe Power Station between July and October 2021. For this project, our team was responsible for blasting and painting the spiral casing, turbine shaft, draft tube, and slot covers of the unit. The nature of this work involved our crew having to work at heights and in confined spaces, while the logistics of the project were impacted by the border restrictions that were in place at the time due to Covid.

This is not the first time that McElligotts has provided their services to Wivenhoe Dam. In 2018, our team was engaged by CS Energy to work on the overhaul of Unit 2 at the Wivenhoe Power Station.

McElligotts would like to thank all the crew members who showed their dedication, experience, and expertise in completing this significant project. Alongside our own team, we also worked with workers from Downer group to get the job done.

 

Nobbys Lighthouse

McElligotts were engaged to complete the repaint of the Nobbys Head lighthouse. The major work scope was the removal of the existing lead-based coatings and replacement with a modern protective coating system. Additional project requirements included the repair of corroded steel, repair of rotten or damaged timber, removal of asbestos, repair of the masonry and/or render, installation of a Sacrificial Anode Cathodic Protection system, installation of a new lantern room access ladder, installation of new safety railing to the lantern room access hatchway, establishment of a temporary lantern, re-instatement of the original lantern including new equipment as specified.

Goods Island Lighthouse

McElligotts were engaged to complete the repaint of the Cape Wickham lighthouse. The major work scope was the removal of the existing lead-based coatings and replacement with a modern protective coating system. Additional project requirements included stabilisation and repair of concrete, repointing of stonework, repair of corrosion and damage to metal substrates.

Cape Naturaliste Lighthouse

McElligotts were engaged to complete the repaint of the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse. The major work scope was the removal of the existing lead-based coatings and replacement with a modern protective coating system. Additional project requirements included the repair and stabilisation of cracking concrete, repairs of severe corrosion and metallic substrates and replacing the external stairway stringer.

Fraser Island Sandy Cape Lighthouse

The Sandy cape lighthouse work scope included the removal of the dome roof and replacement of the roof sill plate, removal, and replacement of the corroded external stair stringer plate.

Sandy Cape was commenced in September 2014 and completed in February 2015.

Before
After

Double Island Point Lighthouse

The Double Island Point lighthouse required corrosion repairs to the sheet plate wall panelling; structural repairs to the lantern room concrete balcony; supply and installation of a cathodic protections system;

Double Island Point was commenced in April 2014 and completed in September 2014.

Hunter Water

The biggest intercrete project completed in the Southern Hemisphere at the time, this project involved repairing 6km of cracks on the floor and a full coat of 3mm thickness intercrete product. With the tank losing 1.2 megalitres per day of water before the remediation works were undertaken, water loss after the repairs was reduced by three quarters.