Adelaide Oval, one of Australia’s most memorable sporting venues, has underwent a $535 million redevelopment program, making it the prime venue for entertainment, international cricket, soccer, AFL and SANFL matches.
Image credit: flickr User: Adriano_of_Adelaide
According to the media release by the Australian Reinforcing Company (ARC), the redevelopment of the venue included building a bridge across the River Torrens; building brand-new Southern and Eastern stands; updating media facilities and change rooms; and revamping the historic northern mound to feature 2100 m² of grass and 900 m² of timber decking as a viewing platform.
The oval has a rich history for hosting cricket matches, so cricket and history buffs will be pleased to know that the historic northern grandstand remains unchanged.
“ARC was the sole steel reinforcing supplier for the new Southern and Eastern stands, which boast combined seating for 31,000 patrons and bring the Oval’s total seating capacity to around 54,000,” says Adam Connor, ARC’s Sales Manager for South Australia.
“The Adelaide Oval redevelopment was what’s known as a design-and-construct project, so the design evolved as the project progressed,” says Connor. “This means ARC assisted Lend Lease in designing some aspects of the project; as well as scheduling in accordance with the drawings (i.e. working out exactly what reinforcing steel was required, and how it needed to be cut and shaped) and supplying the steel accordingly.”
ARC faced great challenge for delivery and unloading due to the limited space on the site.
“Normally, you load reinforcing steel onto a crane truck, go to the site, and manually unload the steel onto the ground alongside the truck,” says Connor.
“This takes a lot of time, because there are over 20 tonnes of steel on the truck which have to be physically removed by crane, one bundle at a time.”
However, for this project, as well as for several other recent projects, ARC used its fleet of Transi-Flats (Trans-continental Flat Rack Trailers), which are delivered using a side loader trailer. This enables ARC to load the steel onto a trailer, pick up the Transi-Flat, put it on the back of a truck and deliver it to the site, saving time and money in the process.
To enhance worker safety on site, ARC SA used the Transi-Flat, which enables workers to put the whole trailer on the ground, so they are only 30 cm off the truck when they unload.
“The use of the Transi-Flat also gave us the flexibility to unload and place the reinforcing at times when the formworks decks were clear of workers, again providing a safer method of production.”
ARC is one of Australia’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of steel reinforcing and fencing products and services. It employs over 800 people in more than 39 locations across Australia and holds five manufacturing sites with the capacity to produce over 400,000 tonnes of steel per year.
