Burrinjuck Dam Cableway Crane Remediation Project
Client: ServiceStream Utilities
Role(s): Project Manager, Design Manager, Commissioning Manager
The first major dam built for irrigation in NSW when construction began before World War I, Burrinjuck Dam helped drive the economic development of the Riverina as a major food producing region. Today the dam continues to support agriculture across the 660,000 hectares of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area centred around the towns of Griffith and Leeton. It also supplies stock and household needs for landholders and towns along the Murrumbidgee River, environmental flows, flood mitigation and hydroelectricity. The large lake has become a popular sport and recreation destination.
As part of their duty of care obligations, WaterNSW completed an assessment for continued safe use of the Dam cableway crane system in 2017. The assessment comprised of a visual inspection and remnant life analysis of the crane. Following the assessment, items were identified that required rectification to ensure continued safe operation of the crane.
Janson Projects was engaged by Tier 1 utilities constructor Service Stream as the Project Manager to deliver the comprehensive refurbishment of a 1920s-built, heritage-listed operational asset. The project scope encompassed detailed design, structural assessments, non-destructive testing (NDT), offsite and onsite fabrication, encapsulation, blasting and coating, and a full mechanical and electrical refurbishment.
A key element of the project involved replacing the 380-meter cableway cabling spanning the dam and installing a new cableway carriage sourced from Europe.
The project presented unique challenges, including restricted access that required mobilizing equipment via helicopter, the need to manage a sensitive site with risks of rockfall from nearby cliff faces and blasting if led based paint in an environmentally sensitive area adjacent to a major waterway.
Through meticulous planning and execution, Janson Projects successfully delivered this complex project, showcasing their expertise in managing technically demanding works within challenging environments.