Portable stairs gave the Warringah Freeway Upgrade project team a direct route down a steep batter in a work area with little room for a scaffold stair tower. Following a site inspection in the Merrenburn Avenue work area, SafeSmart supplied two 1200 mm-wide, 18-step AdjustaStairs connected in line. The multi-flight arrangement ran from the upper walkway to the formwork area below, allowing crews to move between Donnelly Road and the new noise-wall footing works beside live traffic.
Batter Access Beside a Live Freeway
The Warringah Freeway Upgrade covers a four-kilometre corridor between North Sydney and Naremburn. Around Merrenburn Avenue and Brook Street, the broader program included lane and ramp changes, drainage, retaining walls and new noise walls.
In this work area, crews were preparing formwork and footings for the new barrier works. Milling machines and trucks operated below while traffic continued along the freeway. The access route had to bring workers from Donnelly Road, down the vegetated batter and into the narrow construction area beside the freeway.
Space was limited. The batter sat on one side of the work area. New footings and the live road corridor sat on the other. Any stair system had to fit within that strip without blocking the work or requiring a large temporary structure.
Why a Scaffold Stair Tower Would Not Fit
A scaffold stair tower would have required a prepared foundation, supporting bays and room for assembly. That footprint did not suit the narrow corridor between the batter and the new footing works.
The project team needed an aluminium stair system that could follow the existing slope. It also had to be delivered quickly, installed within the available footprint and connected to the walkway at the top of the batter.
The initial enquiry compared SafeSmart’s 15-step and 18-step AdjustaStairs and asked whether the range could provide access up to five metres. After inspecting the site, SafeSmart configured two 18-step units as one continuous multi-flight route.
This used standard AdjustaStairs components to cover the full batter instead of producing one oversized flight or building a scaffold stair tower around the slope.
Two 18-Step AdjustaStairs Connected in Line
Each 18-step AdjustaStairs unit provided a 1200 mm-wide access path. The two units were positioned from the upper level to the work area below and joined end to end near the middle of the batter.
The arrangement followed the batter rather than relying on a tall supporting tower. This kept the stair inside the available corridor and provided a defined route between levels for the workers completing the barrier footing and formwork tasks.
Self-Levelling Treads
AdjustaStairs use self-levelling treads that remain flat as the stair pitch changes. The flights could therefore be set to the site levels while maintaining a consistent tread surface underfoot.
This suits batter access, where the height and available run are determined by the existing ground profile.
A Wider Route for Workers and Tools
The 1200 mm stair width gave crews room to move between the upper walkway and the work area while carrying smaller tools. Handrails ran along both sides of the route, providing continuous support during the descent.
A Smaller Site Footprint
The aluminium flights sat directly along the batter. They did not require the supporting bays and ground area of a scaffold stair tower, leaving more of the narrow construction corridor available for the footing and barrier works.
Faster Deployment as Work Progressed
AdjustaStairs arrive as assembled stair units rather than a stair tower that must be built bay by bay. AdjustaStairs are a stair system rather than scaffolding, so installation does not require a scaffolding high-risk work licence. The units fold for transport and can be moved to the next access point as work progresses.
For a staged road project, that allows the access arrangement to move with the work rather than remaining tied to one permanent location.
Connecting the Stairs to the Upper Walkway
At the top of the batter, the stairs met an existing walkway area. This meant the upper transition, handrails and surrounding access path had to be considered with the stair flights.
AdjustaStairs are engineered to meet relevant stair-tread, handrail and loading requirements and can be configured to suit AS 1657:2018 access geometry. At Merrenburn Avenue, the configuration also accounted for the upper walkway, handrails, connection points and level changes across the complete route.
Together, these elements created a continuous route from the upper walkway to the lower work area, rather than treating each stair as a separate item.
One Upgrade with Different Access Problems
SafeSmart had already supplied King Klampz edge protection for another work area on the Warringah Freeway Upgrade. That system provided guardrails along new concrete structures where conventional drilled posts were not suited to the work.
The Merrenburn Avenue work area presented a different problem. Crews needed to move down a steep batter within a restricted strip of ground. AdjustaStairs provided the batter access, while the wider SafeSmart range allowed each work area to be treated according to its layout and task.
Large infrastructure projects rarely have one access condition from start to finish. A barrier footing, bridge, batter and temporary walkway can each require a different configuration. The repeat supply across the upgrade shows how one project can require different access and edge-protection products as work moves between structures, batters and temporary walkways. SafeSmart could match the product to each work area while giving the project team one point of contact for site inspections, configuration and support.
Planning Portable Stairs for Batter Access
Selecting portable stairs starts with more than the vertical height. The batter rise and going, available footprint, upper and lower transitions, required width, ground conditions and project staging all influence the configuration.
The first enquiry asked whether the AdjustaStairs range could provide access up to five metres. The installed arrangement answered the broader access problem: two standard 18-step flights connected in line to form a longer route within the available footprint.
That approach allowed the stair system to follow the batter, connect with the upper walkway and finish at the formwork area without introducing a scaffold tower into the narrow corridor.
Configure Batter Access for Your Site
Share the batter rise and going, available footprint, upper and lower connection details, required stair width and site program with SafeSmart. Our team can inspect the work area and configure AdjustaStairs with the flights, connections, landings and edge protection needed for the complete access route.
