The Castle Hill Stairs project in Townsville, Queensland has been constructed from Wagners Composite Fibre Technologies (CFT) Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) structural profiles. These profiles are made in Australia at our Wellcamp manufacturing facility using our unique pull-winding process which achieves an Elastic modulus of E40 making Wagners FRP one of the strongest and stiffest FRP profiles on the market.
At approximately 14 metres short of a mountain, Castle Hill is the giant granite monolith that stands proud in the centre of Townsville – a perfect place for visitors to orientate themselves. Castle Hill has several popular walking tracks and trails, which are frequented by more than 2,500 locals a day. The successful completion of this project provided a vital link between Castle Hill and Townsville City which the local community have greatly benefitted from.
The Castle Hill Stairs project in Townsville, presented several geotechnical challenges to overcome, as the stairs were to be installed on a cliff face that has limited access, and was a spherically weathered surface characterized by the formation of layers and wedges of weathered material on competent basalt rock. Designing the structure using our composite materials was key to the success of this project, mainly because of its high strength-to-weight ratio of our structures, which allowed for effective utilization and rapid installation of long structural members. We were able to deliver with practical solutions and help to deliver another outstanding project.