Between a rock and a hard place

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BIG TASK: A crane builds its way out of the Wadi.

In the past, torrents of water have come crashing through the valley, destroying a number of prepared access roads, even though the sun was shining above the site.

A condition of the contract was to keep the wadis wherever possible, which means placing culverts up to 140m long wherever it is necessary to reroute.

Sometimes though, the wadi has to be permanently re-routed. This means no let-up for the machines, which work more than twelve hours a day, seven days a week.

On our visit, the machines had been allowed a brief period of rest, as the noonday sun was beating down and the workers by law had to stop. A Tadano 40-ton all-terrain crane sat in the wadi, while on the trail that is to become the main road, a Cat 16G grader of indeterminable vintage, basked in the heat.

Flooding

Despite the warmth, the risk of flooding constantly hangs over the site manager's heads, so equipment is parked on high ground when not in use. However, when the machines are running, the access roads are prepared with a Komatsu ‘dozer.

Often it is necessary to first widen the path with a digger, in this case a Hitachi Zaxis 35 ton machine, fitted with a Sandvik G88 breaker attachment.

Once the pass is sufficiently wide, the ‘dozer is re-engaged to clear the access. The breakers continue to provide essential service breaking through the rocky outcrops to permit access for the dozer on steep gradients.

Three hydraulic surface drills, including a new Tamrock CHA560 are operated over the rocky surface.

However, by far the most challenging part of the project so far is carving out two giant tunnels, each 1.2km in length, cleaving straight through the rocky mountain.

The problems have been partly geological, A low Rock Quality Density (RQD) meant progress was never going to fast, but extra safety requirements and red tape have also hindered the blasting.

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