The Northern Beaches Hospital Connectivity and Network Enhancement project was awarded an ‘Excellent’ rating by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council for both the Design phase and Construction phase. Ferrovial Construction Australia was the contractor for the project and AECOM were design partner with Transport for NSW.
This recognition was received by Mark Sabolch (Environmental Manager), Hector Martin (FCAU Project Director), Enrique Blanco (FCAU Managing Director), Michael Branscombe (FCAU Head of Commercial) and other personalities from TfNSW (Transport for New South Wales), ISC and AECOM.
The project is already providing the public with a better travel experience by increasing the capacity of the road network and improving access for vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians.
The project, located in Sydney’s Frenchs Forest, achieved the following key sustainability outcomes:
- Biodiversity managed on site through an extensive monitoring program, native bush protection and a nest box implementation program over multiple years.
- Enhanced biodiversity habitat connectivity, with both aerial and culvert crossing structures within the fauna crossing program.
- Two local schools were presented with propagated heritage pear trees from cuttings of the removed trees required for the Warringah Road widening. The team presented the trees with educational resources related to the trees and a plague to mark the significance of the trees to the local area.
- Careful consideration and decision-making during design and construction phases, with focusing on social, environmental and financial sensitivities.
- Climate change risk at the centre of considerations within the project design.
- Sustainable contamination remediation solutions implemented on site, to provide for the lifetime of the infrastructure asset. These solutions held their merits through stringent independent audits.
- The project exceeded the targeted spend for supporting Indigenous businesses.
- Subcontractor Ward Civil was successful during the selection process based on their ‘non-cost’ inclusions and demonstrating their experience health, safety and environment.
- Community Relations activities was one of the pivotal aspects of the project, with regular independent auditing and reporting.
- Urban and landscape designs were developed by experienced subject matter experts, with built in review and feedback mechanisms, during development and implementation stages.
