~giggles~
12-07-2006, 01:01 PM
by By Ben Wiliams
TAGING the Lexmark Indy 300 Champcar and V8 Supercar racing event through the streets of Surfers Paradise is a major construction feat costing almost $12 million and taking 102 days to construct and dismantle. The 4.47 km circuit is one of the most scenic in the world, with parallel straights running along the oceanfront then back along the Nerang River, enclosing an island nature park. It is figured like a rifle with the butt at the northern Southport end and the barrels at Surfers Paradise.
The four streets comprising the circuit are closed off during the 4-day event in mid October. With speeds reaching 320 kph, the circuit is an international leader in motor racing safety standards – this year incorporating 1,157 panels of double height debris fencing in high impact areas. Work started in August erecting 14,000 seats in 30 grandstand structures on the circuit, 10 bridges across the race track and the pit area which has two entrances – one 350m by 25m wide for the Champcar races and another 200m by 20m for the V8 Supercars.
The construction schedule includes placing 2,515 concrete barriers weighing 4.5t each delivered to the circuit six barriers at a time on semi-trailers; 10 km of debris fencing; 16 km of security fencing; 100 km of cabling with 6,000 man hours of electrical reticulation required to install a large scale power and telecommunications system and about 420 portable buildings. The portable buildings are largely housed on the centre-circuit Macintosh Island Park and have a miscellany of uses for team and administration, emergency services and corporate suites. This hub of the Indy also has the race control operations and is the focal point for the public viewing of racing cars.
According to Indy project engineer Steve Orr of Hyder Weathered Howe, the challenge with the Indy is building a circuit in Australia’s tourist capital in the middle of the second term school holidays for the entire eastern seaboard and deconstructing before the end of year Schoolies Week inundation. Getting in and out competencies, leaving Macintosh Island Park in good condition and demarcating construction works to comply with OH&S regulations and maintain local traffic flows, which include the Gold Coast Highway are other logistical challenges.
Fabricated beams
The most difficult structure to construct is the pit building, which is purpose-fabricated for the area like a Meccano set with 500t of steel in portable frame and multiple floor level structures, with fabric roofs of various colours. It is cumbersome to erect and dismantle. Grandstand design and modular seating systems are installed by specialist contractors using their own systems. For example, Australian Seating System has a setup it places in all three Adelaide Clipsal 500, Melbourne Grand Prix and the Indy car races. Systems generally are galvanised iron scaffolding with fabricated beams bolted together. Another system uses SHS (square hollow sections) steel sections welded together. Grandstands rake at 26 degrees and 22 degrees in areas set back from the track. Erection is labour intensive with riggers hard at work all over the site, fixing and bolting.
New-look corporate platforms with steel frames, thick ply floor plates that slot between stringers and purpose built stairs instead of the old scaffold stairs are lifted into place with a mobile crane. Similarly, bridges with prefabricated checker plate flooring, mesh infill panels so that nothing can be thrown from them and a handrail down the centre for people direction are craned into position using two cranes – mostly at night.
Concrete footing
The biggest bridge has a clear span of 39m and others vary from 27m to 20m with older bridges 2.4m wide and new bridges 3.2m. All have a span clearance of 5.6m from asphalt to underside. Reinforced concrete barriers on the inner and outer sides of the circuit, 4m long x 1m high, are linked together to dissipate any impact load in each direction and are designed to move 900 mm on impact, in accord with the motor sports standards of the FIA. Curved debris fencing is bolted on top to stop any flying parts going into the crowd. Internal security fencing is tubular steel framed with mesh infill bolted onto an above ground concrete footing to accommodate underground services and ground undulations.
Specific purpose materials handling equipment is used in construction and dismantling the Indy. A SWL 25t Franna/Terex mobile crane is used for lifting concrete barriers into position because it can reach 12m into a semi-trailer to remove all six barriers in each load – minimising traffic disturbance. Because of their reach, eight Manitous are used to lift scaffolding into position for grandstands; a 40t pin jib crane lifts bridge towers into position; a Knuckle boom lift along with three scissor lifts are completing the external finishes of buildings; a B4530 Genie Boom lift positions fencing and various forklifts are on site. A 50t P&H crane is placing units in the storage yard onto semi-trailers.
http://www.infolink.com.au/articles/21/0C046E21.aspx
TAGING the Lexmark Indy 300 Champcar and V8 Supercar racing event through the streets of Surfers Paradise is a major construction feat costing almost $12 million and taking 102 days to construct and dismantle. The 4.47 km circuit is one of the most scenic in the world, with parallel straights running along the oceanfront then back along the Nerang River, enclosing an island nature park. It is figured like a rifle with the butt at the northern Southport end and the barrels at Surfers Paradise.
The four streets comprising the circuit are closed off during the 4-day event in mid October. With speeds reaching 320 kph, the circuit is an international leader in motor racing safety standards – this year incorporating 1,157 panels of double height debris fencing in high impact areas. Work started in August erecting 14,000 seats in 30 grandstand structures on the circuit, 10 bridges across the race track and the pit area which has two entrances – one 350m by 25m wide for the Champcar races and another 200m by 20m for the V8 Supercars.
The construction schedule includes placing 2,515 concrete barriers weighing 4.5t each delivered to the circuit six barriers at a time on semi-trailers; 10 km of debris fencing; 16 km of security fencing; 100 km of cabling with 6,000 man hours of electrical reticulation required to install a large scale power and telecommunications system and about 420 portable buildings. The portable buildings are largely housed on the centre-circuit Macintosh Island Park and have a miscellany of uses for team and administration, emergency services and corporate suites. This hub of the Indy also has the race control operations and is the focal point for the public viewing of racing cars.
According to Indy project engineer Steve Orr of Hyder Weathered Howe, the challenge with the Indy is building a circuit in Australia’s tourist capital in the middle of the second term school holidays for the entire eastern seaboard and deconstructing before the end of year Schoolies Week inundation. Getting in and out competencies, leaving Macintosh Island Park in good condition and demarcating construction works to comply with OH&S regulations and maintain local traffic flows, which include the Gold Coast Highway are other logistical challenges.
Fabricated beams
The most difficult structure to construct is the pit building, which is purpose-fabricated for the area like a Meccano set with 500t of steel in portable frame and multiple floor level structures, with fabric roofs of various colours. It is cumbersome to erect and dismantle. Grandstand design and modular seating systems are installed by specialist contractors using their own systems. For example, Australian Seating System has a setup it places in all three Adelaide Clipsal 500, Melbourne Grand Prix and the Indy car races. Systems generally are galvanised iron scaffolding with fabricated beams bolted together. Another system uses SHS (square hollow sections) steel sections welded together. Grandstands rake at 26 degrees and 22 degrees in areas set back from the track. Erection is labour intensive with riggers hard at work all over the site, fixing and bolting.
New-look corporate platforms with steel frames, thick ply floor plates that slot between stringers and purpose built stairs instead of the old scaffold stairs are lifted into place with a mobile crane. Similarly, bridges with prefabricated checker plate flooring, mesh infill panels so that nothing can be thrown from them and a handrail down the centre for people direction are craned into position using two cranes – mostly at night.
Concrete footing
The biggest bridge has a clear span of 39m and others vary from 27m to 20m with older bridges 2.4m wide and new bridges 3.2m. All have a span clearance of 5.6m from asphalt to underside. Reinforced concrete barriers on the inner and outer sides of the circuit, 4m long x 1m high, are linked together to dissipate any impact load in each direction and are designed to move 900 mm on impact, in accord with the motor sports standards of the FIA. Curved debris fencing is bolted on top to stop any flying parts going into the crowd. Internal security fencing is tubular steel framed with mesh infill bolted onto an above ground concrete footing to accommodate underground services and ground undulations.
Specific purpose materials handling equipment is used in construction and dismantling the Indy. A SWL 25t Franna/Terex mobile crane is used for lifting concrete barriers into position because it can reach 12m into a semi-trailer to remove all six barriers in each load – minimising traffic disturbance. Because of their reach, eight Manitous are used to lift scaffolding into position for grandstands; a 40t pin jib crane lifts bridge towers into position; a Knuckle boom lift along with three scissor lifts are completing the external finishes of buildings; a B4530 Genie Boom lift positions fencing and various forklifts are on site. A 50t P&H crane is placing units in the storage yard onto semi-trailers.
http://www.infolink.com.au/articles/21/0C046E21.aspx