By Ethan Benedicto
The Webb Street level crossing removal project took a greener approach to managing stormwater, using underground tanks made from recycled plastic in the new Narre Warren station precinct.
During construction, crews installed three detention tanks made of recycled plastic instead of concrete, using specialised plastic filters to slow down rainwater and prevent flooding in the station.
The station’s design itself reduced carbon emissions from concrete during construction by using a mix of cement alternatives in the base slab for the bin enclosure.
Materials such as flyash, which is the combustion of coal in electric utility or industrial boilers, and sand replaced 80 per cent of the cement that would have been required as part of the slab.
Through minimising the use of concrete, the detention tanks save 183.4 tonnes of CO2e, which is equivalent to driving more than 1.1 million kilometres in a diesel car or charging 22 million smartphones at once.
Other sustainable measures were also adopted during the station’s construction phase, such as using solar power generators for the site office and a trial use of a crane powered by recycled cooking oil.
While the new elevated station is now operational, works on its precinct continue after its March opening, which includes a new air-conditioned waiting room, new toilet facilities and an updated ticket office which has recently opened.
Surrounding the station, crews are finishing the forecourt, with 672 upgraded car spaces and planting more than 300 new trees and 63,000 plants, shrubs and grasses to revitalise the area.
