For immediate release, Tuesday 30 January 2024, Sydney: Boral Limited (“Boral”) has been engaged on a massive flexible pavement project in NSW – the Coffs Harbour bypass – which will see the construction materials company supply, deliver and lay 280 kilotonnes of asphalt on the $2.2 billion infrastructure project. Flexible pavement, comprising multiple layers of material which allows for traffic load to be distributed among it and ‘bend’ the asphalt, creates more durability. Initial activity has commenced, with Boral set to start the majority of asphalt work mid year.
The Australian and NSW governments are funding the Coffs Harbour bypass project, which will boost the regional economy and improve connectivity, road efficiency and safety for motorists. It includes the construction of three tunnels, 12 kilometres of new road, and about two kilometres of upgraded highway. Set to be open to traffic in late 2026 and completed by 2027, it will be a key link in Australia’s infrastructure, connecting Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
This package of work will be resourced by the local Boral team with support from surrounding resources in the region. To date, initial planning activity has been undertaken by Boral on the bypass, with the majority of work expected to commence in June 2024.
While roads in NSW have traditionally used rigid concrete, Boral will deliver flexible pavement using EME asphalt, an Australian-developed, French product first pioneered by Boral nearly a decade ago. EME enables a thinner layer of the ultra-hard, high-flexing-resistant asphalt to be used, making it a more sustainable product. It also has five-to-10 times the lifespan of using regular asphalt.
Tim Richards, Executive General Manager, Asphalt at Boral, says: “We are pleased to be involved in the delivery of the Coffs Harbour bypass, a significant infrastructure project that will better connect our major cities and ease congestion in the area. At Boral, we are committed to supporting regional growth and creating more employment opportunities for local residents.
“We have a proven track-record in delivering large-scale projects and being an innovative company; the flexible pavement design with EME asphalt mix being just one example. We are excited to be working with Transport for NSW, and proud to deliver one of the largest flexible pavement projects in the state.”
The Coffs Harbour bypass is a joint venture between global engineering, property and infrastructure company Gamuda Australia and leading engineering and construction company Ferrovial, which will deliver the major package of work. Boral has been engaged as part of this.
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About Boral
Boral is the largest vertically-integrated construction materials company in Australia.
Our network includes prized quarry and cement infrastructure, bitumen, construction materials recycling, asphalt and concrete batching operations.
We employ about 7,500 employees and contractors across our operations that span more than 360 sites nation-wide.
For more than 75 years we’ve been building something great in Australia - rarely a day goes by that you wouldn’t pass one of our sites or trucks, enter a building, use a road, bridge, tunnel, footpath or other critical infrastructure that our people and products have helped enable.