2024 Master Builders and Asset Construction Hire Excellence Awards Civil

Complex Co successfully restored function and safety to the pedestrian bridges at Umbagong District Park, improving access to this beautiful heritage area and transforming it for the community to enjoy.

The team at Complex Co. worked to replace the deteriorating timber footbridges with steel bridges with minimal disruption to the environment. The bridges were widened to 2.5m to accommodate cyclists and wheelchair users, without impacting sensitive environmental areas. To blend with the natural setting, Complex Co. chose a rusted steel finish for the new bridges, complementing the native grassland’s colours and improving the aesthetics.

Cord Civil expertly managed this project to re-naturalise and restore stormwater drains in Calwell, leading to better water quality, improved amenity and ecological benefits.

The team oversaw every aspect of the planning, design review, procurement, construction, and close-out phases of the project as part of the broader ACT Healthy Waterways initiative. This project was designed to filter and purify the water as it flowed through Tuggeranong Creek. A significant technical challenge was safeguarding the works and managing stormwater throughout the site. To address this, Cord Civil installed an Aqua Barrier—a large plastic bladder equipped with internal anti-roll baffles, filled with water, serving as a temporary dam.

Cord Civil kept this complex and challenging project on track with clever planning and proactive problem solving. They went the extra mile by engaging an external environmental consultant to keep the project on track and compliant, and successfully managed water flows on the worksite to minimise damage during a period of significant rainfall.

The team at Complex Co. are behind the critical stormwater improvements at two of Canberra’s most iconic heritage buildings, the Sydney and Melbourne Buildings. In addition to bringing the drainage system up to modern standards to reduce flood risk, they have also helped improve the safety, beauty and appeal of Verity and Odgers Lanes connecting the two buildings, with new pavements, better lighting and safer pedestrian and vehicle access. They were able to achieve this with minimal disruption to businesses.

Following preliminary works, Complex Co undertook works to lower the 225-millimeter-high pressure watermain and the construction of precast concrete chambers on the downstream side of the network. At the same time, the design for the upstream network was being developed. Showing excellent commitment to environmental best practice, Complex Co employed innovative strategies to work around the oversized root systems of the 100-plus year-old trees.

Cord Civil were instrumental in improving traffic flow as part of the Kent Street and Novar Street Intersection upgrades. Several intersections were modified with signals added to provide optimal traffic flows across the busy intersection of the Deakin and Yarralumla business districts.

the existing Kent Street bridge was upgraded, with 2.5m shared paths added to make it more accessible for the large number of cyclists. The team managed to deliver much-needed upgrades while working with limited space, dealing with high traffic and coordinating with multiple authorities to avoid disrupting underground utilities, all on time and within budget.

The joint teams from Wodens, Capital Estate Developments and Spiire must be commended for their outstanding work in civil engineering, landscape architecture, and water engineering services for the growing Denman Prospect community in Canberra, situated in the newly developed Molonglo area.

The teams worked closely to deliver the three stages of subdivision of 8 multi-unit blocks and 77 residential blocks. The project is a standout example of exceptional project management and commitment to industry best practices, raising the bar in terms of construction methods and sustainable design. One notable aspect was the use of earthworks modelling technology, which provided a 3D visualisation for accurate planning and efficient coordination among different teams.