The town of Grantham was decimated by the terrible flood event of 2011. It took the driving vision of then Mayor, Steve Jones and the resilience and grit of the townspeople to rebuild. GenEng Solutions were privileged to work with this amazing community to provide Site Management, Construction Management, and Supervision for the project on behalf of the Lockyer Valley Regional Council.
The Strengthening Grantham Project was funded by the Federal and Queensland governments. The $19 million project involved the construction on higher ground of 121 new lots for the flood-impacted residents of the Lockyer Valley over two (2) stages.
Stage 1 was officially opened on the 10th December 2011 by then Premier Anna Bligh and met the goal of having the first of the flood-affected residents relocated to the Estate by Christmas 2011—prior to the first anniversary of the flood.
All project objectives of Stage 1 were met. These being:
- To have the first of the flood-affected families living in a house on the estate by Christmas 2011 through delivery of a tight 18-week construction program;
- Interaction with, and support of the land owners, and
- Maximise local input in terms of suppliers, contractors and Council workforce
The focus of Stage 2 shifted to cost control, and the whole of the project was delivered inside the $19.1 M budget.
Stage 1 was a very high-profile project attracting considerable media attention and large numbers of visitors to the site. So many site visitors, mostly during working hours, required a significant focus on their safety without work being impeded. This required action and supervision beyond the scope of traditional project management.
The timeframe for the job was very tight considering its scale. The successful delivery of the project on time was achieved through the ability to successfully coordinate a large volume of different activities. The project team successfully oversaw five Council construction crews, multiple small local contractors and suppliers, the procurement and the incorporation of large volumes of materials and the safe use of numerous items of machinery.
