Keeping koalas and endangered fish safe during a large-scale project
When a highway needs improving to keep people safe, care must also be taken to keep local fauna safe too. Looking to improve road safety, reduce highway congestion, and provide a safer local road network, the Woolgoolga to Ballina (W2B) project involved upgrading the existing Pacific Highway to a dual carriageway configuration—enlarging the two-lane road in Grafton to a four-lane motorway.
Our team helped design Portion C of the highway, comprised of sections 7, 8, and 9, with a series of coastal foothills, soft soils, and floodplains. To prevent koalas and local fauna being impacted by the upgrade, we designed 28 wildlife crossings along the length of the project to allow for movement of animals under the highway. We implemented a fencing strategy to encourage fauna in the area to use the crossings, rather than trying to cross the roads. Wildlife crossings include dedicated and incidental underpasses, overpasses, glider poles, widened medians, and rope bridges. We also designed the bridges and culverts to enable the slow-moving Oxleyan pygmy perch—an endangered native fish—to move under the motorway.
Detailed design recommendations helped our client meet regulatory requirements and community expectations—keeping koalas, fish, and people safe during construction and into the future.
At a Glance
- Offices
- Client
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- Pacific Complete
- Partners
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- Arup (Joint Venture)
Kevin Roberts, Technical Delivery Leader, Environment and Geosciences
Environmental consultants help projects meet their intended goals to improve and enhance the environment with a multi-disciplinary approach.
Shane Higgins, Director of Operations
I find real satisfaction in how our design teams deliver infrastructure projects that make communities enjoyable places to live.
Rodrigo Estrada Jaramillo, Technical Director
True success is always a team activity. Individual skills are exponentially magnified through collaboration.
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