Read on to explore how after more than 30-years in construction one Victorian contractor challenged the status quo and up-skilled his team to be able to construct engineering projects from modern building materials thereby reducing business risk, seizing new opportunities and boosting business resilience.
Civilnow were principal contractors on the Twelve Apostles Trail, which included several kilometres of pedestrian bridges and boardwalks specified in Wagners Composite Fibre Technologies Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP).
The Twelve Apostles Trail is a 20km scenic walking and cycling trail located in Victoria, Australia which includes 1.5km of FRP pedestrian bridges and boardwalks with the jewel in the crown being a 117m cantilevered boardwalk overlooking Port Campbell. The trail runs from Timboon to Port Campbell and offers stunning views of the iconic Twelve Apostles rock formations along the Great Ocean Road coastline. It’s a popular route for experiencing the coastal landscape on foot or by bike, with the trail mainly following a former railway line and passing through farmland and coastal areas.
Having never constructed with FRP before Civilnow Managing Director, Jason Rodger set about partnering with people in the know and up-skilling his team to take on the challenge.
“The Twelve Apostles Trail started in February of 2021 and was finished just before Christmas in 2023. So there’s a bit of time on that project and all up it was about 20 kilometres and it started at Timboon and ended up at Port Campbell,” Jason Rodger said.
“And out of those multiple stages, the team and I were lucky enough to secure on the tender system, all but two stages so you can see that the yellow section is mainly a gravel pathway; that’s packages ABCD and E2,” Mr Rodger said.
Being inexperienced with FRP, Civilnow sought to upskill their team and partner with people who had extensive experience constructing with the modern building material.
“I’d never used FRP before until this project and packages E and F were full of it. So, consequently I had to engage a subcontractor to perform these works, and I was lucky enough to come across Cope Ag out of Melbourne and we partnered with them because they had the experience and know how to construct the FRP elements,” Jason Rodger said.
“With section F we had some FRP girder bridges that Cope Ag actually put together in their factory, which was great; not that the weather was a problem at this time of year, but if you’re doing this in the middle of winter the ability, with the material because it’s so lightweight, to be able to assemble a bridge undercover and crane it on site is a game changer,” he said.
“I reckon that was installed within three or four hours which has ongoing positive implications on the entire job; less traffic control, less interruption to local roads, reduced costs associated with hiring equipment and the list goes on.”
Discover how a Victorian contractor reduced business risk, opened up new opportunities and enhanced overall resilience through constructing with Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP).
Featuring Managing Director, Jason Rodger from Civilnow discussing his experience as a first-time FRP builder on the Twelve Apostles Trail project.
