Construction World December 2021

waste water generated f rom the 40 plus crew. The plan was updated to deal wi th unexpected s i tuat ions l ike COVID-19 impacts and the dri l l ing foam that needed to be control led as a sudden increase in the dri l l ing operat ions wi l l blast the foam out of the hole and cause the foamy bubbles to descend on the pedestrians . Which was wel l received by the pedestrians and to thei r del ight on the hot summer days . There were several chal lenges the Kel ler team had to contend wi th. Fi rst ly i t was the incons i stent ground condi t ions before the competent rock , which made dri l l ing condi t ions extremely chal lenging. Dri l l ing through a previously constructed gabion wal l of up to 3 m thick , fol lowed by overburden wi th a mixture of clay, sand and boulders (up to 3 m diameter ) . Secondly, a two-way road nearby had to be reduced to a s ingle- lane road to accommodate the format ion of Kel ler ’s dri l l rig working plat form. Despi te these ef forts , the working area was st i l l confined. Traf fic control was put in place to ensure minimal di sturbance to the communi ty road. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a complete hal t to many construct ion projects in the countr y, including the Thornwood embankment project , towards the latter part of March 2020. The project resumed mid- May 2020 under strict regulat ions st ipulated by the government . There was a shortage of cri t ical suppl ies during thi s period as most industries had been working wi th reduced resources . 

Controls during construct ion ensured envi ronmental pol lut ion not to occur. A comprehens ive waste management plan was prepared before construct ion and focused on the waste that was ant icipated to be generated during the project . Thi s included grout ,

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20 th Best Project Awards 2021