Woolacotts Consulting Engineers were recently engaged by landscape architects Spackman Mossop Michaels (SMM) to provide Civil, Structural and Hydraulic Engineering services on the M4 Legacy Project for Sydney Motor Corporation (SMC).
The Legacy Project aims to provide safe, vibrant and high-quality open spaces for communities impacted by construction of the New M4. It is an aspect of the new WestConnex design in New South Wales and applies to some land adjacent to the motorway, including residual land and landscaped areas. Six M4 Legacy Project areas were identified including: Ashfield, Haberfield Gardens, Cintra Park, Concord Islands and Powells Creek.
Woolacotts provided their engineering expertise for both the Powells Creek and Haberfield Gardens projects on a number of landscaping features including:
- New paths
- Sports court pavement with Plexipave surfaces
- Softball play areas
- Pedestrian boardwalks/bridges
- 3m high x 100m long noise wall (along Wattle Street)
Featured above: Haberfield Gardens Landscape Plan (Image: Spackman Mossop Michaels)
Leaning on our extensive experience with community infrastructure projects, including a range of paths and cycleways, our team are eager to deliver high quality designs and solutions for this large-scale project.”
– Justin Chirillo, Woolacotts Principal Civil Engineer regarding Haberfield Gardens
During the construction of Haberfield Gardens, Woolacotts were informed by the builder Glascott that large quantities of excess fill had been dumped onto the site from neighbouring M4 works. Glascott estimated that it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove the excess fill from the site. In response, Woolacotts were asked to come up with a solution to retain as much fill on site whilst still complying with the relevant design standards and architectural vision.
After liaising with SMM, Woolacotts came up with a creative and innovative solution that involved utilising a series of tiered sandstone retaining walls and redesigning levels in order to blend this excess fill seamlessly into the site. The sandstone retaining walls were economical to build and provided a solution that was aesthetically pleasing and acceptable to both the landscape architect and the client.
Woolacotts were proud to be involved in the development of a new community hub that will improve accessibility and connectivity in Haberfield and the wider council area.
To learn more about our community infrastructure projects, and working with council and Government, visit our projects page here.
