Welcome to the September project update
‘De-stressing’ (not the day spa kind) is the activity of the month across our two tunnels. To ensure rail won’t ‘buckle’ in Perth’s summer heat, sections of rail are cut out and rail strings stretched before being re-welded. Tensers with a pulling force of 120 tonnes assist with setting the rail to its ‘neutral’ temperature of 30°C.
In less technical news: native plants, birds and animals have been captured in vibrant colour in the first community-collaborated public art piece to be completed within the new High Wycombe Station precinct.
As part of the Ibis Place Youth Art Project, a group of 11 young people from the Kalamunda area worked alongside urban artist Fieldey to brainstorm, design and install a 40m-long mural along the precinct's electrical sub-station perimeter wall.
Providing a striking entry statement, the mural titled Homecoming depicts the commuter's journey from the city to the hills.
Bayswater on the right path
More than 800m of the permanent principal shared path (PSP) along Whatley Crescent in Bayswater has been asphalted. The remainder of the path is undergoing different stages of preparation works, such as subbase compaction or spoil removal. Landscaping has also commenced in the area, with fresh mulch adding a touch of earthy colours and planting to commence this month.
Final earthworks and in-ground services installation (water, drainage, power) are ongoing around the portal building and dive structure, with sections of the eastern end of site handed over to the Tonkin Gap Project for bridge works to commence.
Up a level at Redcliffe Station
Uplifting news from within the Redcliffe Station box, where the two lifts are going through their final stage of fit-out. Moving at 1.6 metres per second, the journey between the platform and concourse levels will be a swift one.
Asphalting works around Redcliffe Station are on the home stretch, with the 'kiss and ride' area and the residential turnaround at Central Avenue having been completed this week. Red asphalt for busways within the station precinct has added some colour to the road network.
On the station's main roof, bullnose cladding is ongoing, softening the overall appearance of the structure with curved edges.
Airport Central Station's finishing touches
The past month was all about accessorising at Airport Central Station. Both emergency exit stairs are now adorned with 3.4m-high and 3.7m-wide Transperth signs. Classic white with black sides and illuminated – a timeless style!
Ongoing open-air activities include earthworks in preparation for paving of areas directly adjacent to the station building.
With tiling works well advanced at platform level, crews have started to tackle the large atrium, where screeding (the layer of material between the concrete floor and the finished surface) for tiling has commenced.
High Wycombe successfully connected to the grid
All station structures and the portal building at High Wycombe Station have recently been energised. As part of the commissioning stage, all switches, connections, and plugs are now undergoing testing to ensure there are no surprises on opening day. It's fair to say the lights are on but no one is home (yet!).
Signage installation is ongoing at all levels, with platform seating up next.
Within the station precinct, roadworks have progressed considerably thanks to drier weather conditions. A section of Maida Vale Road was reopened to all traffic earlier this month, while asphalting of the last stage of the new road network within the site boundaries is scheduled for the coming weeks.
Works ongoing for emergency exit trio
With all three emergency egress shafts (EES) at different stages of construction, activities vary between dismantling of scaffolding (Abernethy Road EES), compound earthworks (Airport West EES) and lift installation (Wright Crescent EES).