The Goat Track Upgrade 2013 – Mt Nebo Residents' Association

The Goat Track upgrade The below updates and photographs were provided by staff from Moreton Bay Regional Council to residents of Mount Nebo and Mount Glorious throughout the Goat Track Upgrade. Update (1) 6/8/2013 Welcome to the first Goat Track update – the first of many over the course of the next 12 months – with Council awarding the contract for the road reconstruction to Doval Constructions (Qld) Pty Ltd. As Doval will be mobilising onsite within the next two weeks, it is important for residents to be mindful of the following:

Road users are reminded to take extra care at the intersection of the Goat Track and Mt. Nebo Road and at the intersection of the Goat Track and Mt. Glorious Road. As the road reconstruction work progresses, there will be an increase in the number of trucks and construction vehicles that will be passing through these intersections. These intersections will be well signed, however the roads do corner at these locations and the construction vehicles will be moving slowly through the intersections.

Once the contractor is on site, the section of the Goat Track that is to be reconstructed becomes a construction site. This section of roadway will be fenced off and security put in place to protect the construction plant, equipment, facilities etc. Public access through the construction site will be prohibited for safety and security reasons.

Update (2) 16/8/2013 Update from This week the contractor, Doval Constructions, mobilised on site and undertook the following activities:

placement of a site office and storage containers within the construction site area at Mt Glorious Road end of the Goat Track
installed silt fencing and other environmental controls
the surveyors started with investigation work and the establishment of reference stations

Next week, activities will centre around survey work and preparation for controlled clearing of vegetation from work areas. It is anticipated that a construction site area will also be established at Mt Nebo Road end of the Goat Track within the next few weeks, as works will be conducted from both ends concurrently. Update (3) 23/8/2013 Update from The main activities undertaken this week were:

Completing the set-up of the site offices at the Mt. Glorious end of the Goat Track – refer to photo.
Completion of site survey control. This is used by the Contractor to set out the road and ensure that it is reconstructed as per design.
Clearing of the vegetation from the work areas – refer to photo.
Preliminary earthworks and removal of boulders in order to establish a track through the site for the construction machinery – refer to photo.

Next week Doval will:

Continue with site clearing. Once the thick vegetation is removed from the work area, Geotechnical Engineers will be regularly inspecting the site to ensure the adequacy of the design and construction.
Start the “dry wall remediation treatment” of the downhill slopes. This involves stabilising the downhill slopes with a sloping rock berm. There will be several types of slope stabilisation treatments used throughout the project. The dry wall treatment will be used on the downhill slopes where the angle is not very steep.

Update (4) 30/08/2013 Update from The project is now well under way:

The bulk of the clearing of the work area is now completed. Geotechnical Engineers and Ecologists from the design team inspected the project site. We have identified, tag and mapped all the Macadamia Integrifolia which are trees classified as Threatened Species. There are several of these trees along the proposed path for the road reconstruction work. The design team is currently reviewing and modifying the design in order to preserve the “Macs”. Refer to attached photo – the Macs are in the background of the photo.
The construction of the first of the “dry wall” slope stabilisation treatments along the Goat Track is well underway. The contractor has also started with the site preparation for the next two similar structures further along the Track. Refer to photos.
Structural engineers also inspected the bridge structure in the middle of the site. The engineers have forwarded to the contractor details of the temporary support structure necessary to enable the construction machinery to safely travel over the bridge. Following minor repairs being completed, the existing bridge will be part of the reconstructed Goat Track. Refer to attached photo.

Next week, the work will focus on: Enabling the construction vehicles to access the site from both ends of the Goat Track.

The dry wall treatment work will then be undertaken from both ends of the project, progressing towards the middle of the site. Trucks delivering the 300mm minus stones, used in the dry wall treatment, will then be entering the site from Mt. Nebo Road as well as using the current entrance from Mt. Glorious Road.

Update (5) 6/09/2013 Update from (for ) The main activities undertaken this week were:

The Doll Tree will be preserved (refer attached photo). The engineers are currently redesigning this section of the Goat Track to realign the roadway and will construct an embankment system to protect the base of the tree.
Construction of the dry wall treatment along the downhill slope of the reconstructed road. There are now 4 locations along the Goat Track at which the dry wall treatment is currently being undertaken. There will be many locations throughout the project where this type of treatment will be required. The 3 attached photos shows the construction sequence.
There are several sections of rocky outcrops along the track. For example the rock in the attached photo is too large to be physically removed. To break up the rock the construction team will drill holes into the large rock and fill the holes with an expanding chemical grout. As the grout hardens over the following 12 hours it, expands and splits the rock into small segments which can be removed using a large excavator. Dust is always an issue on projects such as this one. To overcome any concerns, the full length of the project is sprayed 4 times a day with recycled water. Refer attached photo.
The existing bridge structure has been temporarily strengthened to ensure that the construction vehicles can safely travel over it.

Next week the construction will continue mainly in the following areas:

Continuing with the construction of the dry wall treatments.
Complete the survey that is required at this stage of the project.

The project is now approx. 9% completed. Update (6) 13/09/2013 Update from Good progress was made this week in the following areas:

Removal of vegetation from the upslope areas adjacent to the Goat Track was completed a couple of weeks ago. Now the construction team is working to stabilise the upslope embankments. Areas where the slope is only a couple of metres high are being trimmed by the excavator, following which engineers inspect the slope to ensure stability. Attached is a series of photos showing the stages in trimming the smaller slopes.
Quality Assurance is an important aspect of the project. Regular site inspections were conducted this week to ensure the quality of the work – attached photo shows a downslope cutting being inspected.
Dry wall treatment continued at two more sites in order to stabilise the downhill slope of the Track.

Next week the crew will continue with the dry wall treatments. Also work is due to start to stabilise the Track next to the bridge structure – refer attached photo. The project is now approx.10% completed. Update (7) 20/09/2013 Update from The project is continuing to make good progress with work in the following areas:

Continued trimming of the batter slopes.
This week the construction crew encountered areas of colluvium material (large stones and boulders surrounded by a soil matrix). In these areas the excavator has to carefully remove all the floating boulders from the cut-back slope to form a stable surface. The attached photo shows such an uphill slope.
In some situations the practical solution is to leave very large rocks in place and design a wall treatment to ensure their stability. The attached photo shows such a situation. The engineers are currently determining the best treatment method for this particular case.

Next weeks activities will include:

Continuation of cut-back treatment of the uphill slopes adjacent to the Goat Track – as shown in attached photo.
Continuation of the Dry Wall treatment of the downhill slopes adjacent to the Track.
Preparation of the abutment areas at the bridge.

The project now is approx. 12% completed. Update (8) 27/09/2013 Update from The continuing fine weather has permitted the contractor to make good progress this week:

Work continues mainly with the trimming of the uphill slopes. In sections where the uphill slope is quite high (over 5m), the road level is temporarily raised by a meter or so to form a ramp or platform on which to position the excavator. The excavator can then reach and strip back the upper levels of the slope.
There is a large reinforced soil embankment to be constructed to support the downhill slope at one of the many road bends along the track. The initial task was to remove the highly weathered material from the downhill embankment slope. The attached photo shows the slope having been excavated to natural rock foundation level and the crew starting to constructed the reinforced soil embankment. This will bring the slope back up to road level.

Next week:

The construction crew will continue with upslope batter treatment.
Abutment wall treatment near the bridge will commence.

The project is now approx. 15% completed. Update (9) 4/10/2013 Update from This week the construction activities centered on the following:

The splitting and removal of boulders from site. The first photo shows an excavator (in background) filled with a rock hammer breaking up a large boulder into manageable size rocks. The excavator in the foreground manoeuvres the boulders into position for the rock breaker. The rock fragments are then loaded onto a truck for transportation off site or reused on site as toe protection on downhill slopes.
Some boulders are too hard for the rock hammer to break into smaller pieces. The attached photo shows a boulder which the rock hammer was unable to successfully reduce to rocks of a manageable size. In this case holes will be drilled into the boulder. The holes will be filled with a chemical compound which expands as it hardens and splits the boulder.
Last week, a photo showed the start of the construction of a reinforced earth retaining wall at a bend in the road (Chainage 180m to 220m – near Mt. Nebo Road intersection). This week’s photo shows the reconstruction of the embankment nearing completion. The reinforced earth is placed in layers and compacted to the design specification.

Next week:

Continue with upslope batter treatment at several sections along the Goat Track.
Removal of large boulders.
Completion of the reconstruction of the embankment at road-bend (Chainage 180m to 220m).

The project is now approx. 17% completed. Update (10) 11/10/2013 Update from Progress was achieved this week in the following areas:

construction continues on the large reinforced earth retaining wall at a bend in the track at chainage 180m to 220m
breaking of large boulders down to a manageable size to handle on site is progressing
cutback steep uphill slopes in preparation for soil nails and shotcrete
installation of 600mm pipes at chainage 200 (within the large reinforced earth retaining wall)

Next week:

A specialist contractor, for the installation of soil nails and shotcrete, will establish their facilities on site.

The project is now approx. 19% completed. Update (11) 18/10/2013 Update from This week the site activities concentrated in the following areas:

Construction of the large reinforced earth retaining wall has been completed, at the bend in the track at chainage 180m to 220m.
Mobilisation of a specialist contractor, Hyatt Ground Engineering, for the installation of soil nails and shotcrete.
Over the next few months, reference will be make to “soil nails” and “shotcrete walls”. Attached is a description of what these terms mean.
This week the contractor installed “test soil nails”. Next week engineers will witness and record the pull-out test on these soil nails. This is done to ensure that the soil nails have been installed deep enough into the hill slope to develop the “pull-out strength” required to anchor the structure in place.
While the drilling contractor is drilling the holes for the soil nails, another crew is preparing an earth platform on which the drill rig will be positioned to drill the high level soil nail holds. The photo at Ch 880 shows the excavator (in background) making a construction bench in the slope upon which the drilling rig will be positioned. The uphill slope is stabilised only to the extent from which nature can take over.

Next week:

Finalise the pull-out test on the soil nails. The design engineers will use this information to determine the exact depth of the soil nails for each location. The contractor will then continue to insert the soil nails and construct the shotcrete walls.
Other crews will continue with other treatments of the upslope batters along the Goat Track.

The project is now approx. 21% completed. Update (12) 18/10/2013 Update from Main activities this week:

The attached photo shows two soil nails that were installed last week. This week, a jack will be attached to the end of the soil nail. The jack pulls on the nail and the pressure at which the nail starts to be pulled out of the embankment will be recorded. This information will be forwarded to the design engineers to determine the number, depth and separation of the nails. Once all the nails have been installed, a shotcrete wall is sprayed on the prepared surface of the slope to the extent as shown in the photo. The soil nails are encased in the shotcrete wall to provide stability. The other photo shows the drilling rig drilling the bottom row of holes at the locations marked in the first photo.
Very large rocks are chemically split into smaller fragments which are then loaded into trucks for cartage off site. The photo shows a large rock which has had a number of 75mm diameter holes drilled into it by the drilling rig (background). The holes will be filled with grout. As the grout hardens it expands and splits the rock.
There is also a photo showing an excavator trimming the high slopes from a working platform. The excavator loads the material trimmed from the slope into a truck for removal from site. This activity is presently being undertaken at several sites along the Goat Track.

Next week:

Continue with soil nail installation
Continue with upslope batter treatment
Start installation of storm water pipes under the Track

The project is approx. 23% completed Update (13) 2/11/2013 Update from This week the main activities were:

The drill rig that is currently on site has the ability to add and remove extra lengths of drill shaft as required. This week another drill rig was brought onto site. On this rig the extra lengths of drill shafts have to be manually added and removed. The attached photo shows workman performing this task.
Also attached is a photo showing the equipment used to install the soil nails – the drill rig in the foreground, workman standing on a mobile platform about to insert the PVC corrugated sheath into a 8m deep drilled hole. Once the PVC sheath is positioned in the hole, the workman will then insert a high strength galvanised reinforcing bar into the PVC sheath. Grout is then injected into the hole to form the soil nail. In the background is the mobile work-platform and an air compressor.

Testing of the soil nails that were installed a week or so ago:

The photo shows a workman recording the pressure that the hydraulic jack is exerting on the soil nail.
The close-up photo of the jack and the head of the soil nail shows the gauges which measure the pull-out distance of the soil nail at the various pressures being exerted by the jack.
The approach to the bridge was severely eroded. This week the construction crew removed the washout material and replaced it with large armour rocks. Towards the end of the project, the road pavement will be reconstructed upon the armour rock foundation.
A rock grab continued to remove smaller boulders from the upslope embankment.

Next week:

Continue with the installation of the soil nails.
Start the construction of the shotcrete walls on the embankments where the installation of the soil nails has been completed.
Continue with the cut-back treatment of the upslope batters.

I received an email from John Carter recently in which he provided the attached photo and noted “It was taken in 1931 during construction of the road to Mt Nebo. None of those soil nails or excavators etc – just a couple of one horse power carts and workers wearing the hi-vis clothing of the day.” Thanks John for your contribution. The project is approx. 25% completed. Update (14) 8/11/2013 Update from This week’s main activities:

Construction of the armour rock fill embankment has been completed on the uphill side of the bridge. Last week I included a photo showing work at about the half way stage. This week the construction crew completed the reconstruction of the embankment – photo attached.
Work is concentrating on the construction of the sections of the road which require the upslope batters to be protected using shotcrete walls held in position with soil nails. Currently there are three drilling rigs on site installing the soil nails. Attached are two photos showing two drilling rigs working on the same upslope batter.
The final photos show the soil nails installed and the batter slope being prepared. The shotcrete wall will be sprayed against the batter slope with the soil nails cast into the shotcrete wall. At the base of the shotcrete wall, a stormwater drain is constructed to carry the water downhill to a pipe crossing under the road.

Next week:

Continue with the installation of the soil nails.
Start the spraying of shotcrete walls on the embankments where the soil nail installation has been completed.
Continue with cutback treatment of the upslope batters.
Continue with the rockfill treatment of the downhill batter slopes.

The project is approx. 27% completed. Update (15) 15/11/2013 Update from This week Cr Bob Millar inspected the site and saw first-hand the following activities:

Continuation of the drilling of holes for the soil nails.
Preparation of the galvanised steel mesh reinforcing for the shotcrete retaining wall.
Spraying of the shotcrete to encase the head of the soil nails and to form the retaining wall.
Installation of a new stormwater pipe crossing. The existing pipe crossings are retained where possible. If the pipes are damaged, they have to be replaced. To date 3 pipe crossings have been completed. There are 31 stormwater pipe crossings required to be constructed.
During the week, 59 mm of rain was recorded on site. The attached photo shows a series of silt traps along the side of the road used to ensure that the eroded material is captured on site and does not wash into the environment.

Next week:

Continue with the installation of soil nails.
Continue with the installation of the stormwater pipe crossings.
The construction of the Expended Polystyrene Wall (EPS) – details next week.

The project is approx. 29% completed. Update (16) 22/11/2013 Update from The main construction activities this week:

Started on the construction of the Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) retaining wall system at one of the required locations on the steep down-hill slopes. Attached is a description of the EPS wall system and how it is constructed. Also attached is a photo showing the removal of the overburden material , the excavation required for the footing of the EPS wall, the steep slope adjacent to the wall and the limited area available in which the construction crew is able to work.
Continuation of the installation of soil nails and the construction of the shotcrete retaining wall. Approx 1,000m of the 7,500m of soil nails have been installed to date on the project (13%). The attached photos show this work being undertaken at 2 sites along the track.
4 of the 31 stormwater crossings have now been installed.

Next week the construction team will continue with:

Installation of soil nails and shotcrete wall treatment of the uphill batter slopes.
Stormwater pipe crossings.
The construction of the EPS wall and the installation of the passive soil nails at its base.

The project is approx. 31% completed. Update (17) 29/11/2013 Update from Main areas of activities this week:

The photo at Ch 760 shows a section of the upslope batter which has large rocks projecting at the surface. Where this occurs, the rocks are anchored in position using soil nails drilled through them, and then the rock is encased in the shotcrete retaining wall structure.
When a floating boulder (a single rock) is uncovered during the trimming of the upslope batters, and the “floater” may cause instability in the slope, the boulder has to be removed. Attached is a photo showing these boulders stockpiled, ready for removal from site.
The photo at Ch 1025 shows the excavation for the EPS wall nearing completion. The next photo shows the drill rig positioned in the excavation so that it can drill the holes for the passive anchors. These anchors will secure in position the footings and the vertical retaining wall of the EPS structure.
Installation of soil nails continued at two locations along the Track.
Continued with the removal of any damaged existing stormwater pipes and the installation of stormwater pipe crossings.

Next week work will continue with:

The installation of soil nails and shotcreting of the retaining walls on the upslope batters.
The installation of stormwater pipe crossings.
The construction of the EPS wall – installation of the passive soil nails and the fixing of the reinforcing steel in the base of the structure.

The project is approx. 33% completed. Update (18) 6/12/2013 Update from This week, work continued in the following areas:

Installation of soil nails at two locations using the three drill rigs. The attached photo shows two drill rigs drilling the holes for the soil nails to stabilise the uphill slope.
Installation of stormwater pipe crossings
Breaking of boulders and removal from site
Installation of the passive anchors for one of the EPS walls
Excavation commenced for the second EPS wall at Ch 1240 as shown in the photo

Next week work will continue with:

Installation of soil nails
Installation of storm water pipe crossings
Construction of the two EPS walls – foundations for one of the walls and installing passive anchors for the other wall. The attached photo shows the construction of the ramp for the drill rig to drive down into the excavation. The rig is then positioned for it to drill the holes for the passive anchors.
Spraying of shotcrete walls to areas where soil nail installation has been completed. An attached photo shows the wall from Ch 790 prior to the spraying of shotcrete.

The project is approx. 35% completed. Update (19) 13/12/2013 Update from Work continued in the following areas this week:

Installation of soil nails at two locations – Ch. 760 to Ch. 790 and Ch. 1080 to Ch.1140. The attached photo shows a rocky outcrop above the Goat Track. These rocks are too large to remove, therefore they are secured in position by the soil nails. Steel reinforcing mesh will be placed around the rocks and the mesh will be extended to cover the upslope batter surface. Shotcrete will then be sprayed on the upslope batter to complete the wall structure.
Installation of the passive nails for the Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) wall – Ch. 1025 to Ch.1045.
Completed building the dry wall below the EPS wall – Ch. 1235 to Ch. 1260. The photo shows the excavator positioning the rocks to form the dry wall.
Cut ramp to position the drill rig for the installation of passive nails for the EPS wall at Ch. 1235 to Ch. 1260 and prepared a working platform area. The next photo shows the construction of the dry wall completed, the ramp leading down the excavation to the top of the dry wall and the working platform being constructed on top of the dry wall.
Installation of stormwater pipe crossings.
Other photos have been included depicting general site activities.

Next week, work will continue with:

Installation of soil nails.
Construction of the EPS wall at Ch. 1235 to Ch. 1260 with the installation of the passive nails at its base.
Shotcrete the upslope batter from Ch. 760 to Ch. 880 once the installation of the soil nails and the fixing of the wall reinforcing has been completed.
Pour the concrete foundation for the EPS wall – Ch. 1025 to Ch. 1045.

The project is approx. 37% completed Update (20) 20/12/2013 Update from Work continued in the following areas this week:

Preparation of the upslope batter from Ch 760 to Ch 800 for the spraying of the shotcrete wall. The attached photo show the first section of the wall being sprayed with shotcrete. The next photo shows the remaining section of the batter face being prepared with the soil nails, behind wall strip drains and mesh reinforcement in place.
Trimming of the upslope batters with the excavator between Ch 1400 to Ch 1450.
Preparing the foundation for the Expanded Polystyrene Wall (EPS) from Ch 1025 to Ch 1048. The attached photo shows the strip footing for the EPS wall being poured.
Continued the installation of stormwater pipe crossings and the placement of erosion protection matting at the discharge end of the stormwater pipe.
Removal of large construction machinery off site and securing the site for the Christmas/New Year shutdown period.

The construction site will be closed for 2 weeks as from Friday (20/12/2013) afternoon for the holiday period. There will be no construction activities on site, however site security measures will be in place. Next project update will be provided week ending 10 January 2014. The project is approx. 39% completed. Update (21) 10/01/2014 Update from Work continued in the following areas this week:

Three of the attached photos show the stabilisation of approx 120 m of uphill slope between Ch 760 to Ch 880. The majority of soil nails have been installed, and workmen are working from an elevated work platform fixing the steel reinforcing mesh. Within the next couple of days, the prepared area will be sprayed to form the shotcrete wall.
Continued the construction of the Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) walls at two sites along the Goat Track. An attached photo shows the EPS blocks being stored onsite prior to use.
Installation of storm water pipe crossings.
Installation of erosion control matting at the discharge end of the stormwater pipe crossings.