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Dur•A•Span™ a natural selection for causeway ecosystem.

September 1st, 2009

When civil consultant, Aurecon, was faced with building a causeway across a 3 km tidal flat with an extremely sensitive, saltwater ecosystem, they turned to Atlantic Civil Products and our proficiency with engineered solutions using Dur•A•Span™ Aluminium Structural Plate.

Aurecon was developing the road for MCC, a Chinese consortium developing an Iron Ore mine in Cape Preston, Western Australia (just west of Karratha). The causeway design called for nine small drainage structures (80 m in length) to allow the tidal waters to maintain the sensitive marine ecosystem, which was highly populated with mud crabs, dangerous sea snakes and sensitive intertidal flora such as mangrove plants.

Small environmental variations within a mangal may lead to greatly differing methods of coping with the environment. So, the mix of species at any location within the intertidal zone is partly determined by the tolerances of individual species to physical conditions, like tidal inundation and salinity. Corrosion- and abrasion-resistant Dur•A•Span™ Aluminium culverts were a natural selection to maintain pre-existing conditions. Other solutions considered by the consultant were concrete box designs or plastic pipe. Atlantic Civil Products proposed a series of Dur•A•Span™ Pipe Arches at 3375 mm x 2126 mm.

Challenges that had to be overcome included: saltwater tidal conditions; a high acid sulfate soils potential; silty mud up to 4 m deep; a differential settlement potential; high live load traffic (designed for a 600 HP articulated tractor), and; an extremely quick delivery requirement. A number of geotechnical issues were resolved with the help of Geosite Pty. Ltd.

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