Construction site access at Rosehill started with the descent into the excavation, but the route did not end at the bottom. Crews still needed to move between levels near the concrete structure. At the surface, exposed edges and truck deliveries needed their own arrangements. Each task called for a different type of access.
The Gamuda Australia and Laing O’Rourke Consortium was awarded the Western Tunnelling Package for Sydney Metro West, which included twin tunnels between Westmead and Sydney Olympic Park. Rosehill was a launch site for the tunnel boring machines and is the location of the package’s services facility and crossover.
The launch site needed a way to get people from ground level to the bottom of a deep excavation. A box stair provided that route through a series of flights and landings. Stacking the flights in a tower kept the descent in one location, rather than spreading it along the length of the excavation.
The Rosehill flyover also shows a Proscaf stretcher stair installation beside an opening in the concrete structure. Stretcher access needs to be considered along the whole route, including landings and turns. A wide flight is only useful for that purpose if the approaches and transitions give the crew enough room to use it.
The tower addressed the main descent. Inside the excavation works, shorter changes in level still needed to be connected. At Rosehill, Proscaf scaffolding and AdjustaStairs worked together to connect levels, with the scaffold providing the landing for the stair connection.
An adjustable flight can suit different combinations of rise and run within the system’s design limits while keeping its treads level. Start by setting the points where people need to step on and off. Those points determine the available stair run, where the flight meets the scaffold, and what the landing and guardrails need to accommodate.
The Rosehill site used several edge protection solutions. The edge of a launch box, the side of a scaffold deck and a stair entry all need protection, but they do not serve the same purpose. A barrier can run continuously around an opening, while a stair entry must allow people through at a defined point.
Plan the access points before laying out the edge protection. That shows where a barrier needs to return to the structure, where an entry belongs and which fixings the supporting surface can accommodate. It also helps keep the landing clear as other work moves around it.
At the surface, people handling materials needed a way to reach truck decks. SafeLoader provides stair access to a standing platform beside the vehicle. It gives the delivery crew a defined point of access instead of leaving them to climb onto the tray from ground level.
Plan the truck position and the platform approach together. The crew needs room to reach the platform without crossing the vehicle’s manoeuvring path, and the platform must fit the working height of the vehicles expected at the site.
We supported the Gamuda Australia and Laing O’Rourke Consortium on Sydney Metro West’s Western Tunnelling Package with scaffold towers, AdjustaStairs, edge protection and SafeLoader truck access platforms. The Rosehill site shows how these systems fit together around a tunnel launch excavation.
Key Summary
Trace the route from the surface to the work area and mark every point where people change level or transfer between structures. Identify the main descent first, then look for shorter connections that can be served by individual flights. Record landing levels, the space for the stair run and the boundaries that need guarding.
Map vehicle movements and delivery access alongside the pedestrian routes. When crews know where trucks stop, how people reach the decks and where materials move next, the delivery area is easier to plan without blocking access to the excavation.
Send SafeSmart the site layout and excavation sections to review how stair towers, adjustable flights, edge protection and truck access can fit into the same works plan.
Civil Construction
Industry
Gamuda Australia and Laing O’Rourke Consortium
Location
New South Wales
Status
Installed on site
Capability
Scaffold, stair, edge protection and truck access
Delivery Model
Access system configuration and supply
Material
