Kerrs Creek Level Crossing Upgrade

The Challenge:

At Kerrs Creek, located approximately 30kms north of Orange in Central NSW, the existing rail infrastructure at Kerrs Creek Rd was showing its age.

The level crossing required an upgrade to suit more recent standards and safety requirements for rail infrastructure. Aware of Hanlons experience in working on level crossings, John Holland Rail CRN engaged the team to provide an upgrade to the existing Kerrs Creek Road level crossing.

The Solution:

Hanlons undertook the required survey for the upgrade and provided design and construction support throughout the entire project. The survey was undertaken by Hanlons Surveyors, Tim Bolte and Jacky CH. Tim Milsom (Designer and Surveyor) and Katrina Smith (Drafter) developed the design and drawings, with Tim also providing construction support. 

As the existing infrastructure was located along, and serviced Kerrs Creek Rd, information from the survey informed a design that was produced and approved for construction, meeting current JHR CRN, Council and Austroad standards. A combination of GPS and Total Station tools were used for the detail survey, with design completed in Magnets civil design software and drafting in Acad. 

There were hurdles that presented themselves in the project. The steepness of the existing Kerrs Creek Rd that led into the level crossing caused concern over the difficulty of producing a design that would meet all required standards, design guidelines and recommendations. In particular, concerns around sighting distances for users needed to be resolved. As a result, a speed reduction was imposed on the railway line, which would assist with meeting the sighting requirements and safety standards.  

Construction on the site was undertaken over a weekend shutdown with the end result providing key stakeholders with an asset that now meets current standards, has an increased life expectancy and is safe.