Epsom Road Main Sewer Renewal Project

Description

The Epsom Road Main Sewer Renewal project is part of a four-year $100 million program to upgrade ageing sewer pipe infrastructure across Melbourne. Relining of 1.6 kilometres of the sewer was completed using trenchless technology by inserting a sleeve into sections of the existing pipe. Bypass pump stations were installed, and vacuum trucks were used to remove sewage away from the work zones during construction. Sewer maintenance holes, located in the road surface, were modified to provide worker access to remove debris, repair, grout and clean the sewer in preparation for lining. Once lining was complete, bypass pump stations were demobilised and piping was removed and areas impacted by construction were remediated.

Approach

The Comacon team collaborated with John Holland KBR’s project team, responsible for all engagement and communication activities on behalf of John Holland KBR and Melbourne Water. We designed, prepared, and delivered communications collateral, emails, training material, photos, social media, andwebsite content. Relationships were established with councils and impacted stakeholders, and regular update meetings were held. All inbound enquiries from the community were recorded in the Melbourne Water database, responded to, actioned and closed off in a timely manner.

The impacted community included residents and businesses across two council areas, and high-profile businesses and community facilities along the Epsom Road alignment, including Flemington Racecourse and Melbourne Showgrounds. Removal of the large volume of debris in the sewer caused significant project delays. The community was fatigued from the ongoing day and night work, bypass pump systems and vacuum truck operations. Existing community engagement approaches were therefore reassessed and tailored to impacted stakeholders.

Comacon supported John Holland KBR throughout the final stages of this project which were the most critical and impactful. This presented a unique set of challenges as multiple work zones were in place concurrently, day and night, with work areas changing several times a day whilst crews worked across the network. This required constant evaluation of stakeholder impacts, and regular consulting with stakeholders along the alignment regarding traffic changes, property access and construction impacts.

Contact

Jo Williams, Senior Communication and Engagement Consultant

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