Monash Freeway Upgrade

Monash Freeway is the largest and busiest freeway in Victoria, and it’s currently undergoing a $1.08 billion upgrade. Led by CPB Contractors, these major works will see 36km of new lane, as well as 85 gantries to house on-road technology. The team is also building new sections of highway to connect freeways; improving interchanges and bridges; and developing new shared user paths for cyclists and pedestrians.

The project is required to have the lowest possible effect on the local environment. From residences to vegetation; air quality to water quality; soil contamination to noise, there’s a focus on minimising impact.

Jonathan Rowlands, CPB Contractor’s Environment Manager on the project, explains, “The project has contractual obligations to minimise the impact of the works on residents and the environment. We report in line with these obligations and we measure noise, dust and vibration across the works.”

Continuous monitoring allows proactive site management

The project team uses SiteHive Hexanode devices to monitor both noise and dust in real time. With two devices in permanent locations close to sensitive residential areas, continuous monitoring has meant the team can be proactive in managing issues and minimise the impact of site activity. For example, the works are using cement-treated crushed rock for some elements of the build, which can create dust. Jonathan says that they now manage this in real time so it doesn’t have an impact on the community.

Data is available continuously from the SiteHive Hexanodes for both noise and dust. Jonathan says this is a big change from traditional devices, and has meant that the team has been able to identify and address issues much more easily.

Having access to continuous information also helps the team respond to any community complaints. On this project the CPB team manages noise, dust and vibration in the SiteHive platform, which keeps a full record of all site activities.

Jonathan says, “We do get complaints, but they are not always caused by the works. For example, during the recent shutdown we were still getting complaints even though there was no work being done. But because we have a full record of what’s happening in SiteHive, we can show that the noise wasn’t caused by us.”

Mobile, multi-sensor devices make it easier

The team also has a number of other SiteHive Hexanodes, which they move around as needed, based on the works. As the team builds the 85 new gantries required on the road, they set up devices next to each gantry for the duration of the work.

“We can then control whether it’s on or off from off-site, through the SiteHive software. Once we’ve finished, we just move it to the next one - it’s very easy.”

Reporting that’s easy to do, easy to understand

It’s important that the team has a good handle on what’s happening from an environmental perspective across the whole site. They also need to provide reporting to their client and stakeholders, so that everyone feels confident in site activities.

Jonathan says that the SiteHive software has made this easy. “I have found the SiteHive reporting is very useful for our project requirements. The graphs presentation is easy to understand and we can show it to our clients - so we can explain the information in a simple format, providing them with confidence in what we are doing.”

“It’s great for showing to people who are not experts. For example, we can point to the contract threshold line in the graphs and it’s easy to see how we're tracking all the time.”

Less reliance on consultants

Using SiteHive has also allowed the CPB environmental team to do most of the monitoring themselves. This has given them access to more data, in a more timely manner.

Overall, real-time environmental monitoring has allowed the CPB team to mitigate environmental impact on the project. They’ve employed a proactive approach to managing environmental aspects that’s allowed them to minimise the impact on local communities and the environment.