Eastern Plant Hire’s Work on Queensland’s Infrastructure
Eastern Plant Hire has been pivotal in many of Queensland’s largest infrastructure projects over the past ten years. As a relatively new plant hire company in Queensland, we had to work hard to prove our abilities in the local infrastructure industry. Leaning on everything we’d learnt over the years in Victoria we set out to provide plant and truck hire services with a difference. With years of experience in providing ‘The Best Service on Earth’, we set about disrupting Queensland’s plant hire market.
Our tireless work has lead to some big wins, we have been awarded the materials cartage and plant hire contracts on a number of Queensland’s biggest projects. Not only that but we’ve become a reliable source of trucks and plant for local industries as well. Whether you need one excavator for three days or a fleet of construction equipment and trucks for three years we’re more than happy to help. Below are four of the highlight projects that we’ve worked on in Queensland.
The Queensland Infrastructure Projects We’ve Worked On
1. Our Work on the Pacific Motorway M1/M3 Gateway Merge
One of the projects we’re most proud to be a part of is the Pacific Motorway M1/M3/Gateway merge. It is a $190 million Queensland motorway upgrade, part of the larger Pacific Motorway Upgrade Master Plan. The merge upgrade covers major upgrades for the Pacific Motorway between Eight Mile Plains and Rochedale South, around exit 19. This upgrade ties into the major works taking place throughout the Gold Coast through the Pacific Motorway M1 Upgrade Program.
Some of the works include lane upgrades, relocation of existing bus entries, replacement of the current underwood bridge and the installation of new motorway technologies along the upgraded M1 merge. The Pacific Motorway M1/M3/Gateway merge has been running over capacity in the afternoon for a number of years and is renowned as one of the major bottlenecks around Brisbane. Due for completion in 2020, the Pacific Motorway merge will greatly improve traffic flows and safety, and reduce accidents and travel times.
2. Our Work for the Logan Enhancement Project
EPH took part in the major construction of the $512 million Logan Enhancement Project. It began in 2017 (under CPB Contractors), where Eastern Plant Hire’s plant and expertise have been utilised for various parts of the Queensland-based project. EPH trucks were used throughout the day and night, with our night crew often smashing out 4,000T of profiling before each new day begins. The major congestion-busting project, powered by over 1300 local jobs, is anticipated to deliver around $1 billion in economic benefits for Queensland over the next 30 years. The scope of works includes:
- Resurfacing of existing roads
- interchange upgrades
- the installation of new safety components and barriers
- the addition of new service roads
- new pedestrian and cycle paths
- the upgrade and relocation of various on and off-ramps
- new noise barriers
- upgraded traffic signals and signage
- new traffic lights
3. Our Work on the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing
Now completed, the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing is the largest Australian Government funding commitment to a single road project in Queensland’s history. The $1.6 billion project is a 41km road bypass route to the north of Toowoomba. Now finished, it connects the Warrego Highway at Helidon Spa in the east to the Gore Highway at Athol in the west via Charlton. EPH was heavily involved in the material haulage package of work for the project, where tandems, 8-wheelers, 10-wheelers, semi-tippers, ejector trucks and truck & dog combos were utilised.
The two major constructions of the project were an 800m-long viaduct built over an existing Queensland Rail rail line, connecting the Lockyer Valley and the Toowoomba Range escarpment and four new lanes (two lanes each way) from the Warrego Highway’s eastern interchange at Helidon to the western interchange at Charlton. With this came a number of supporting construction works for interchanged and on and off ramps. Drivers are now able to avoid 18 sets of traffic lights via the bypass, which will remove around 22,000 vehicles from the CBD each day.
4. Bruce Highway Upgrade—Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway
Eastern Plant Hire is currently working on the Bruce Highway Upgrade Project, a 10-year project and the largest Queensland has seen. The project is aimed at improving safety, flood resilience and capacity for the Bruce Highway between Cairns and Brisbane. Since 2016 we have been working on the Bruce Highway Upgrade – Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway Upgrade. The $929.3 million project is of major importance as it delivers critical safety benefits, reduces traffic congestion and will meet the strategic needs of the Sunshine Coast region into the future.
The work includes major upgrades to the Sunshine Motorway and Caloundra Road interchanges, including the construction of a Diverging Diamond Interchange, the first of its kind in Australia. Between the two interchanges, the road will be widened to six lanes and a service road will be added for local traffic between Steve Irwin Way and Tanawha Tourist Drive. The Bruce Highway Upgrade – Caloundra Road to Sunshine Motorway Upgrade is expected to finish in late 2020 with the entire Bruce Highway Upgrade Program to conclude in 2022-23.
Infrastructure in Queensland is Lifting Off
While it’s been a slow few years for some areas of Queensland new infrastructure projects across the state are seeing the construction and mining industries kick into third gear. With a number of projects in South East Queensland alone either starting or well into their timelines it’s a sign of what is to come for the state. Eastern Plant Hire is proud to have played an integral role in some of the biggest projects Queensland and Brisbane has seen to date, and are looking forward to what the future hold for the construction and infrastructure industries in the Sunshine State.
