McElligotts was recently engaged by one of our long-term Queensland clients to assist in the remediation of the berth deck and underside of Port Alma.
Port Alma is situated on the southern end of the Fitzroy River delta and is the major deep sea port for the city of Rockhampton. The Port is managed by the Gladstone Ports Corporation, owned by the Queensland Government and is the principal designated port for the handling of ammonium nitrate cargoes and Class 1 explosives on the east coast of Australia. In addition, the port handles bulk tallow and military equipment for exercises held at Shoalwater Bay.
McElligotts’ scope of work on the project primarily involved concrete remediation. Concrete Remediation refers to the structural repair and reinforcement of concrete, protection installation, joint and sealing repairs and more. It’s important to have concrete remediation carried out as soon as cracks are beginning to appear to ensure the safety and longevity of the structure.
In addition, McElligotts installed a cutting edge, highly safe access scaffolding system to enable workers to continue with their job safely. In line with our company values, our scaffolding structures are designed with safety as the number one priority to give workers the confidence to complete a project without compromising their safety.
For the Port Alma project, McElligotts used UHPW jetting to thoroughly remove the previous concrete and prepare the port for remediation. In addition, an access scaffolding system has been installed under the berth to enable personnel to obtain safe access between tides. We are very pleased with how the project is progressing and are confident we will achieve a great result.
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QLDPortAlma
Port Alma QLD
2021 Project Updates
McElligotts has been hard at work continuing our Port Alma project throughout 2021. Our permanent crew onsite are responsible for water blasting on average 150 millimetres of concrete from the port. We have managed to remove complete areas of the port, exposing the reinforcements and progressing the project further. At McElligotts Queensland, we are incredible proud of the work our crew has done, and continues to do, on this significant port.
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.
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.
In July 2010, McElligotts erected scaffolding access to a ship fender along a rail beam. Instead of a conventional vertical birdcage design, this scaffolding had to hang from engineered brackets, welded to the rail beam above. As part of the design and engineering process, we prepared a 3D CAD design for our clients, ensuring they had a better idea of what the finished product would look like before approving.
In total, the completed scaffolding access system weighed 232 tonne and spanned 200 metres, allowing for complete access along the rail beam. Learn more about our scaffolding capabilities.
In October 2012 and February 2013, McElligotts worked on two separate conveyor belts at the Oaky Creek coal mine facilities. Oaky Creek has been open since 1982, and although the open cut mine is closed, underground coal mining is still operational. For this project, we were conducting paint remediation and structural integrity works on two 20m tall conveyor systems.
A birdcage scaffolding tower was engineered and constructed for each conveyor system, taking into account requirements for wind loading and other relevant environmental factors. From there, protective painting application was safely conducted by our team in fully encapsulated booths. Learn more about our scaffolding capabilities.
In April 2013, we were contracted by the Caval Ridge Coal Mine owned by BMA, to perform touch up painting and protective coating on their coal stacker reclaimer equipment. Initial surface preparation included abrasive blasting and mechanical cleaning. From there, construction paint damage was repaired and re-application of protective coating systems was conducted to the client’s specifications. In total, we worked on three raw and product coal stackers and two raw and product bucket wheel reclaimers.
During the course of that project, we were also hired to conduct similar paint and protective coating application on their new CAT 7495 Electric Rope shovel. As the rope shovel is a massive piece of equipment, we had an encapsulated on-site painting area, where each individual item was painted before being erected. In 2014, the Caval Ridge Coal Mine was opened and started producing coal a few months ahead of schedule.
McElligotts were contracted to conduct on-site painting and protective coating on the CAT 7495 Electric Rope Shovel at Daunia coal mine in June 2014. The Daunia Coal mine opened in 2013 and is expected to have a lifespan of approximately 21 years. We had worked on a CAT 7495 before at Caval Ridge, the first in Australia in CAT colours, with this one to be the second.
Paint and protective coating was sourced according to the client’s specifications. McElligotts offer off-site abrasive blasting and painting at our Mackay facilities, but for some clients, transporting their specialised and bulky equipment is unviable. In this case, we set up an encapsulated paint site at their Daunia facilities, painting each individual item before the final structure was erected.
McElligotts was engaged to restore some existing mining equipment in October 2014. This included a Hitachi EX5500 Excavator boom and an armoured face conveyor (AFC). Some of this equipment had seen use at the Gregory Crinum coal mine and it was clear it would need extensive surface preparation and specialised protective coating.
Prior to applying protective coating, abrasive blasting was conducted on both the boom and conveyor equipment up to AS1627.9 Class 2.5 (equivalent to ISO8501-1, Sa 2.5: Very thorough blast cleaning). From there, applied Intergard 251 as a primer and Interfine 629 for the final coatings on the boom, and Red Oxide primer on the AFC equipment. By choosing McElligotts, our client received off-site professional paint application, transportation of heavy equipment (the boom was 40-tonne alone) and quick turnaround.
In 2016, Queensland Rail sought a solution from the McElligotts team to undertake the refurbishment of the Merivale rail bridge in Brisbane. The Merivale bridge was opened in 1978 and had not received any major remedial maintenance since then. Our primary role in this project was to strip, clean and apply protective coating to the bridge deck, cables, arches and other structural surfaces.
As the Merivale bridge serves as the only rail link between South and North Brisbane, it was essential that no services were disrupted. This project also included replacement of all rail sleepers and installation of a gantry, which meant we had to closely collaborate with other contractors on site to ensure everything went smoothly with no interruption to services. As a result, this project spanned two years, finishing in July 2017.
The full schedule of works included:
Application of a biodegradable degreasing solution to remove any grease, oil and other contaminants accrued over the years
Pressure washed the surface with 5000 psi to remove all salt deposits and degreaser residue
Cleaning of all corroded surface areas, removing any mill scale and flaking paint
Mechanical abrasion of the remaining surface to remove loosely adhering coating, oxidation and all remaining contaminants
Application of a spot coat of zinc, a spot coast of epoxy mastic and two coats of Ferrox A finish
The bridge had extensive contaminant residue and corrosion, requiring plenty of attention before the surface was adequately clean to begin protective coating application. There was also the added hurdle of tight access space and short timeframes between rail services. We were very pleased with the end result and managed to complete the project safely and sustainably, in alignment with our McElligott’s values.
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McElligotts have offices in Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and New South Wales. We work on projects all throughout Australia.
