Description
The North East Link Program represents one of the largest transport infrastructure investments in Victorian History. The Primary Package, delivered by Spark D&C, delivers twin 6.5km three-lane tunnels, closing the missing link in Melbourne's Freeway network between the M80 in Melbourne's north east to an upgraded Eastern Freeway. Above the ground, the project will deliver revived and reconnected parklands, a new Motorway Control Centre and two ventilation structures.
Rating Highlights
| Category | Credit | Achievements/ Description |
| Innovation | Inn-1 | Full points awarded for Innovation in Round 1 Design, including a World First for Indigenous co-design. |
| Energy and Carbon | Ene-1 | 95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions achieved through energy efficient design and a commitment to procuring renewable electricity for construction and operations. |
| Resource Efficiency and Management | Rso-6 | 32% reduction in embodied carbon and a 30% reduction in Enviropoints achieved through design efficiency, concrete mix optimisation and maximising recycled content. |
| Water | Wat-1 & Wat-2 | 23% reduction in potable water use and 36% potable water replacement, including optimisations in excavation methodology during TBM tunnelling and harvested rainwater used for washing the spoil conveyor belt. |
| Stakeholder Engagement | Sta-1 & Sta-2 | Extensive collaboration with key stakeholders and community, with deep engagement from early in the planning phase and throughout design development, ensuring priority issues were addressed. |
| Place | Pla-2 | Robust Urban and Landscape Design Plan which enhances environmental and social outcomes, most notably achieving increased connectivity through an extensive network of shared user paths, enhanced community facilities and increased landscape productivity. |
Verified Innovations
| Innovation Name | Description | |
| Rubber T-Lok Barrier | Spark NEL were the first project to procure Saferoads’ Rubber T-Lok Barriers, the first concrete crash barrier manufactured with crumbed rubber in Australia. The inclusion of crumbed rubber improves the safety of road users by reducing impact force in crash events whilst providing an application for end-of-life rubber crumb from waste tyres. | |
| StormFLO Pipe Under Trafficable Road | | Spark NEL were the first Project in Australia to install Vinidex’s StormFLO Civil, a corrugated plastic stormwater pipe, under trafficable road pavement. At the time of verification, plastic pipes were not permitted under permanent road pavements by VicRoads, however plastic pipes are generally easier and safer to install and more durable than a reinforced concrete alternative, contain recycled plastic and can be fully recycled at end of life. The product was installed as part of the temporary Bulleen Road Diversion and allowed a demonstration of constructability and structural performance, supporting potential future approval for permanent works. |
| Road Embed Indigenous Design Charter Principles | Spark NEL were the first road project in the world to apply the International Indigenous Design Charter (IIDC), a global benchmark for Indigenous design and engagement. Using IIDC principles, the Project empowered the Traditional Owners of the land on which the North East Link is built, the Wurundjeri people, to achieve true co-design across the scope of the Project tender, planning, landscape, architecture, urban design and wayfinding, embedding 31 co-designed solutions throughout the Project. | |
| Zero Trim Diaphragm Wall Piling | Spark NEL, in collaboration with Cementation Skanska, have introduced an innovative Zero Trim Piling methodology to the Australian construction industry. Initially developed for London’s HS2 project, the methodology utilises a vacuum excavator to remove excess concrete from the top of a diaphragm wall pile while wet, avoiding manual breakback and eliminating associated safety and environmental risks including silica dust exposure, musculoskeletal injuries and noise and dust pollution. | |
| Structural Timber Infrastructure Building | Spark NEL are the first infrastructure project in Australia to feature a mass timber building. This building, the Motorway Control Centre, features a timber structure consisting of timber roo framing and portal frames, timber purlins and a timber façade. This design solution offers reduced embodied emissions and environmental impacts, increased construction efficiency and improved occupant health and wellbeing. | |
| Yurringa Energy | Spark NEL has supported the development of and will be the first to procure energy from Australia’s first Indigenous Energy Retail Company, Yurringa Energy. For the first time in industry, Spark asked energy retailers to make commitments to social outcomes as part of their tender for the supply of renewable electricity during the construction phase. Yurringa Energy, a Supply Nation certified Indigenous business, were able to demonstrate $5.11 million in shared value for the Victorian economy by creating greater economic inclusion for First Nations peoples and through the productivity uplift that comes from diversified organisations. |
Acknowledgments – People
- Spark NEL D&C: Roman Garrido (Project Director), Marco Assorati (Managing Director), Jarrod Neilson (Engineering Director), Jessamine Welsh (Sustainability Manager), Julia Rogerson (Senior Sustainability Advisor) & Rachael Lee.
- North East Link Program: Rob Harper (Sustainability Manager) & Adam Mullins (Senior Sustainability Advisor).
Acknowledgments – Suppliers
- Boral
- Holcim
- Yurringa Energy
- Saferoads
- Vinidex
