PB delivered the engineering design and construction management for Stage 1 and is currently designing stages 2 and 3 of this 165 ha industrial park 17 km east of Melbourne’s CBD.

Client DB RREEF (now Dexus Property Group) was looking for an engineering consultant who could demonstrate infrastructure innovation and the capacity to reduce construction costs and developer contributions.

PB provided flora and fauna surveys, geotechnical advice and all civil design services. PB staff developed a number of water-sensitive urban design solutions, including water reuse opportunities, creative sewer designs and effective stormwater management.

Key achievements included:

• a pressure sewer system that reduced installation depths, minimising excavation costs in underlying rock (potential savings over $150,000)
• a one way pavement crossfall profile with central swale inverts, breaking new ground with the local council on how stormwater drainage should be treated in industrial estates, minimising additional pipe and pit networks, and reducing construction times (potential savings of $400,000)
• drainage strategy studies for Melbourne Water, reducing the size of retarding basins in stages 2 & 3 from 15 ha to approximately 8 ha, reducing construction costs, and providing additional developable land (savings of over $6 million).

Civil works for Stage 1 were completed in 2005, and the estate began operating in 2006. Large corporations such as Visy, Coles and Fosters have located their distribution warehouses in this prime location.