Last year, in 2019, the McElligotts Tasmanian team were involved in a large wind turbine project for the new Cattle Hill Wind Farm in partnership with Haywards.
Cattle Hill Wind Farm is Tasmania’s third wind farm (with their fourth currently close to completion) and is located on the shores of Lake Echo in the Central Plateau of Tasmania. The farm consists of 48 turbines which produce 148 MW of clean renewable energy – that’s enough to power about 63,500 Tasmanian homes! It is also the first wind farm in Australia to trial innovative eagle monitoring and detection technology, designed to help conserve Australia’s native bird populations.
McElligotts worked closely on this project in partnership with Haywards who were responsible for manufacturing 20% of the tower components, and our Tasmanian team supported them in providing all of the protective coating systems. The biggest challenge in this project was the scope – each piece was very large and moving them through the workshop was a process that needed to be managed carefully. Each piece of the turbine was oversized, and multiple roads had to be closed when transporting them to Cattle Hill Wind Farm.
Renewable energy in Australia is a growing sector with wind energy a leading component of that. Wind power currently accounts for approximately 8.5% of Australia’s total energy demand, and about 35% of all renewable energy production within the country. There are currently 101 wind farms throughout Australia with another 30 projects either under construction or committed to being built in the next 24 months. So this is a growing sector that McElligotts are excited to be involved in and contributing to.
Cattle Hill Wind Farm is not the first wind farm that McElligotts have provided protective coatings services for and is likely to be the last. With a strong focus on renewable energy, especially coming out of the devastating bushfires in late 2019 / early 2020, we can see many more wind tower projects coming in the future. Our Tasmanian facilities are well equipped to handle this work, with a very close relationship with Haywards who manufacture a lot of the wind towers within Australia.
Our Tasmanian facilities are located next to Haywards and we share some facilities including cranes and a trolley rail system that enables us to move the wind towers and other heavy structures around. For example, currently with wind towers, we can have 3 or 4 sections of the tower in our facility undercover at one time. The trolley system then pushes the structures through the line, from blasting bays and then into painting bays. Learn more about our Tasmanian facilities and capabilities here.
McElligotts’s Tasmanian team were proud to have the opportunity to work on a key piece of infrastructure in Hobart, the Bridge of Remembrance. The bridge is a new pedestrian bridge that opened to the public on March 31 2019, just in time for ANZAC Day.
The Bridge of Remembrance is named so because it links two of the most significant areas of remembrance in Tasmania, the Cenotaph and Soldier’s Memorial Avenue. The bridge allows visitors to walk or cycle from one to the other and acts as an overpass above the busy Tasman Highway.
The Bridge:
The bridge is a stunning structure, architecturally designed by Denton Corker Marshall (DMC) in partnership Arup, Inspiring Place and BSPM Architects. It cost $11 million, and is 4m wide and over 6.5m high. The striking design features steel ‘wings’ and cladding along the sides and is part of the City’s on-going mission to make walking the most attractive mode of transport by giving high priority to pedestrians and providing them with convenient walking links to key destinations.
The Scope of the Project:
The McElligotts Tasmanian team have a close relationship with Haywards, a Launceston-based steel fabrication company who were also contracted for this project. We partnered with Haywards to provide all of the protective coatings work for all of the main structural steel.
The project was completed in several sections and then transported down into Hobart. Once in Hobart, the sections were welded together and the cladding was put on. To complete the project, the highway was closed for a day so that the massive sections of the bridge could be lifted into place.
McElligotts are proud to have been part of such an amazing project. The Bridge of Remembrance was not only an impressive project due to the design and scale of it, but it is also an important part of Australia’s infrastructure and history, as it helps commemorate the service and sacrifice by our Australian service men and women.
The images below were taken on the official opening of the Bridge of Remembrance in Hobart on 31st March 2019. Click on them to enlarge.
McElligotts was engaged by Melbourne Water to rehabilitate the Wantirna Sewer Shaft in March, 2017.
The scope of work included the rehabilitation of a 65m deep and 12m diameter sewer shaft. At McElligotts, the safety of our staff and clients is our top priority, so It was especially important for us to maintain a safe system of working as working within a live sewer can be dangerous for a number of reasons.
Our work on this project included:
Access, egress and rescue capability
Work platforms, safety lines and catch facilities
Cleaning of all internal surfaces in the shaft
Removal of all softened and acidified concrete from shaft walls and platforms
Rehabilitation and remediation of all concrete surfaces including rebuiliding
Application of a protective coating
McElligotts finished this project within a short six-month time frame, working around the clock to ensure the Wantira Sewer Shaft was restored as quickly as possible.
BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) sought out McElligotts to perform repairs to concrete kentledge beams on berth two at the BMA Hay Point Coal Loading Facility in North Queensland.
The BMA Hay Point Coal Loading Facility is an important asset of Queensland Coal, and is a central loading point for the seven mines that BMA operate in North Queensland. As part of the remedial works, McElligotts were able to perform repairs using our own comprehensive Quality Management System, which was conveniently already in use onsite. During the project, McElligotts worked closely with consulting concrete engineering company Infracorr to develop and manage the Quality Management System over the 18-month duration of the project.
The scope of this project included:
Remove 150mm of concrete from the underside of the kentledge beams without damaging the steel reinforcing
Repair corroded reinforcing
Reinstate the removed concrete using dry concrete spray processes
Application of a hybrid cathodic protection system
This project is particularly significant for McElligotts because we were able to work cohesively with the client, engineers and suppliers to provide a safer workplace with a higher production rate and to a higher standard than what had ever previously been used on site.
In 2016, McElligotts was contracted by Hydro Tasmania to remediate the Wayatinah Penstocks in Wayatinah, Tasmania. An important part of Tasmania’s power systems, the Wayatinah Penstocks are a group of three steel penstocks that run 220m into 3 spiral castings, powering the hydroelectric run of the river Wayatinah Power Station.
To begin the project, McElligott’s first had to remove the existing coating of coal tar using ultra high water, pumping the waste water back to the top and treating it so it could be re used back through the system. This was important to us as we are a company that values sustainability, so we made every effort to reduce water waste during this project
After removing the existing coating, we were able to set up the abrasive blasting robotic system so that we could achieve a class 3 blast and also apply a holding primer to keep the abrasive coating in place. Once the abrasive blasting and waste garner was removed and cleaned, the welds and pitted areas were stripe coated.
Finally, the spray robotic system was put into each of the penstocks to apply one full coat at 500 microns, which saw the project complete at two years after the start date.
McElligotts were proud to have been able to play a part in remediating one of Tasmania’s most important power systems, which proved to be a rewarding experience.
In February 2017, McElligotts was contracted by Duratc on behalf of Maritime Services to complete the rehab and painting of the Ryde Bridge, a steel bridge structure with two truss spans, a central lift span and approach spans.
The Ryde Bridge is located just west of the Sydney CBD and connects Ryde in North Sydney to Rhodes in Sydney’s West, spanning the Parramatta River. Constructed in 1935, this bridge replaced the need for ferries to carry supplies between these two points, creating a new convenience for road traffic, bikes and pedestrians. In addition, Ryde Bridge has significant significant local history being the only lift span bridge on Sydney Harbour since these types of bridges are no longer designed and built. Since its construction, Ryde Bridge has proved an important transport route for outer suburbs to access inner Sydney via car.
As part of the rehabilitation, McElligotts had to perform strengthening repairs on the entire bridge which included:
11, 000 sqm of riveted steel truss
Establishment of scaffolding and level A containment
Safe working areas and maritime vessel management
Abrasive blasting
Safe removal of the lead-based coating bridge below deck
Situated on King Island, Tasmania, the Cape Wickham Lighthouse is Australia’s tallest lighthouse, standing 48 metres tall. Built in 1861, the lighthouse is constructed of local stone, has walls 3.4 metres thick at the base and 11 flights of stairs each with 20 steps. The lighthouse was originally lit with a single oil wick burner with an acetylene flasher before finally being replaced with a lightbulb in 1918. Shortly after in 1921, the light was permanently switched off after the superintendent’s house was demolished. Now, the lighthouse is an iconic tourist destination in Tasmania, so it’s important that the lighthouse is upheld to standard.
In February 2019, McElligott’s were engaged by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to complete the rehabilitation and painting of the lighthouse. The main job was to remove the existing lead-based coatings and replace them with a modern protective coating system. In addition, we were asked to repair and stabilise the cracking in the concrete balcony and internal lantern room floor support corbel, repoint the iconic stone work, repair corrosion and damage to metallic substrates, replace the ground floor external stairway stringer and re-glaze the lantern room and timber windows.
An international engineering marvel both today and at the time it was devised, the Snowy Mountains scheme, or Snowy Hydro, is a network of sixteen dams, seven power stations and 225km of pipelines and aqueducts in Southern New South Wales. The sheer scale of the project required 25 years of continual construction and connected new Australians with regional communities in the process. The project provides over 30% of the renewable power on the Eastern Australian electricity grid, which runs from Rockhampton to Melbourne, Adelaide and Tasmania.
Even today, talking about the Snowy Mountains scheme both conjures up memories for older Australians and inspires younger, technically minded Aussies. Such is the reverence for the scheme in Australian culture, that a Snowy Hydro 2.0 is in the works to deliver more renewable energy across the Eastern Australian grid. It’s a project that is cemented in Australian history as one of our defining moments, and as one of our first renewable energy projects, it’s helped ease the impact on our beautiful environment.
Over two decades ago, McElligotts had the pleasure of working on this iconic piece of Australian infrastructure. On what was the largest project we’d ever undertaken at the time, we applied specialised protective lining to 1.5km of 3m steel pipes. As both the stakes for failure and the quality demanded from the client were extremely high, we imported cutting-edge robot spraying technology from the United States to assist with the job. It allowed us to complete the massive undertaking in less than 12 weeks, with some of the most uniform paint depths we’d ever seen at the time.
This was one of the first times such technology was used in Australia and marked a turning point in McElligott’s history. Since that time, we’ve continued to invest in new technologies to provide efficient, durable and consistent results for larger infrastructure and construction projects.
In addition to honing our own capabilities and providing enhanced protection to vital piping in the Snowy Hydro scheme, we had the opportunity to employ over 60 locals in the process. The Snowy Hydro scheme is a vital part of the local economy and we were beyond pleased to work with locals and hone the skills of our existing workers.
Check out company director John McElligott discuss the Snowy Hydro project in more detail below, and if you have any questions or would like to discuss an upcoming project with McElligotts then please get in touch.
McElligotts recently completed repairs for the Slade Point Reservoir in partnership with Mackay Regional Council.
The reservoir was exhibiting deteriorated concrete with spalling, delaminated concrete and areas of exposed reinforcement.
Slade Point is a small coastal town in Mackay. It’s unique location makes it one of the few spots in the region where visitors can experience both sunrises and sunsets over the ocean. The water reservoir services the local community of approximately 3,500 residents as well as a strong tourism presence, especially during whale watching season.
Following the completion of repairs to the reservoir, Mackay Regional Council and several local community groups and businesses engaged local artist Cara Saunders (aka ‘Owlet’) to paint an impressive mural on the exterior. Whales were selected as the focus for the mural as the water tower is located on the headland of Slade Point, making it a popular whale watching area.
This project is a great example of some of the smaller scale projects that our team work on. All of the preparation, concrete remediation and priming was completed by the Queensland McElligotts team.
McElligotts was engaged to remediate concrete seepage at the Black Hill Water Reservoir. Owned by the Hunter Water Corporation, the Black Hill Water Reservoir is an 86 million litre water reservoir, constructed in 1939. The structure was still in good overall condition, but had begun to show signs of seepage, with water escaping through deteriorated joint seals and cracks in the concrete slabs. Remedial concrete works were necessary to keep the water safe and the structure stable and protected. We completed the project between July and September 2017.
The project demanded a 20-year minimum design life and certification with the Australian standard AS/NZS 4020 for contact with potable water.Firstly, we applied a primer to the concrete surface and placed a flexible bonding tape to the 5,000 lineal metres of joints. To repair the cracks in the floor and toe slabs, Intercrete 4841 (cementitious-polymer protective coating) and Intercrete 4872 (waterproof reinforcing tape) were selected as the most suitable products within the project’s requirements.
We had a timeframe of 42 days for this project which had a floor area of 11,000m2 and short shutdown windows when we were able to apply the coating. When selecting the coating and application method, we needed to accommodate for the structural movement and stresses observed during the regular usage and maintenance of the site (up to 5mm vertical movement in the floor was observed in prior surveys).
Ultimately, we were able to meet the client’s requirements to schedule, and we’re pleased with the finished outcome. The Black Hill Water Reservoir will be well-protected from any structural stress and corrosion for decades to come.
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McElligotts have offices in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and New South Wales. We work on projects all throughout Australia.
