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22 September 2008
International professional services company GHD has won two
prestigious awards for engineering in the 2008 WA Engineering
Excellence Awards, presented by Engineers Australia.
GHD and Water Corporation were recognised for their innovation
on the Wellington Dam Spillway project, taking out the award for
research and development.
The project involved a unique program of research to define and
design cost-effective solutions to upgrade the aging Wellington
Dam, near Collie in south-west Western Australia.
GHD and Water Corporation were required to accurately predict
the dynamic hydraulic loads on a spillway under extreme flood
conditions. The research combined hydraulic engineering (analytical
predictions and scale modelling) and Computational Fluid Dynamics
modelling.
The results, which were tested using three independent means,
informed a design which incorporates 28 piers and the strongest
post-tension anchors available in the world.
The dam upgrade is expected to take place by 2010.
GHD and its partners in the Millstream Link Alliance – Main
Roads WA, Macmahon and Coffey Geotechnical – were also recognised
for their work on the Karratha Tom Price Road, which won the
engineering for regional communities category.
The second stage of the project provided an 88km sealed road
from Karratha, on the WA coast, to the heart of the Millstream
Chichester National Park.
The project was recognised for the benefits it will deliver to
residents of the Pilbara region, providing them with a safe,
all-weather connection to the hub of Karratha. The road will
improve access to schooling, commercial activities and health
facilities and allow residents and tourists to more easily access
the national park.
GHD Perth operating centre manager Graham Greenacre said the
award for excellence was a tremendous endorsement of the technical
skill and ability of the project teams.
“The booming WA economy has afforded GHD the opportunity to work
on a variety of projects across a multitude of sectors,” Mr
Greenacre said.
“Technically complex projects like the Millstream link and the
Wellington Dam Spillway showcase the high level capability of our
people to their peers, our clients, and the community, and bolster
the company’s position as a leader in engineering and professional
services sectors.”
For further information, contact:
Sonia Adams