Western Roads Upgrade

Client:

Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF)

Contract form:

Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

Location:

VIC, Australia

Project lifecycle stage:

Procurement

Project value:

$1.8 billion

Duration:

2017 – 2018

At a glance

The $1.8 billion Western Roads Upgrade (WRU) was a key infrastructure initiative for Melbourne's West involving the design and construction of seven arterial road upgrades, a freeway interchange modification, and the rehabilitation and long-term maintenance of 260km's of Melbourne's arterial road network. Delivered under an Availability Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, it was the first of its kind in Australia for arterial roads.

Objectives

The Western Roads Upgrade is an availability PPP between the State and Netflow consortium, consisting of upgrades to key arterial roads in Melbourne's West including:

Dunnings Road;
Palmers Road;
Derrimut Road;
Leakes Road;
Dohertys Road;
Forsyth Road interchange; and
Duncans Road Interchange.

It also consists of rehabilitation works, which includes:

Repairing and resurfacing 37 roads; and
Strengthening seven bridges and structures.

All the upgrades and rehabilitated assets form part of the 260km network to be maintained by Netflow for 20 years, under the PPP agreement.

Our services

SmedTech was engaged by the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) to provide specialist PPP technical advisory services for the State. In this role, we:

Developed a new form of PPP framework, distinct from existing models at the time – focusing on long-term maintenance without operational obligations.
Led the drafting for the Project Scope and Requirements documentation which built upon prior experiences from Peninsula Link, East West Link and West Gate Tunnel projects.
Provided core strategic support throughout the Procurement phase, including: RFP process management, tender evaluation, preferred tender negotiations, and technical documentation close-out for contract award.
Provided additional advisory contributions, including: input into the drafting of Project Deed Schedules, development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and performance requirements, and designing a heavy vehicle volume change claim process.

Our impact

SmedTech's involvement was instrumental in shaping a pioneering PPP model, being the first of its kind for arterial roads, delivering a technically sound and commercially viable framework. Our work ensured that the State was equipped with technically robust documentation and a commercially viable framework, strategically guided through a complex procurement and providing a clear pathway to successful contract execution and sure success during Delivery.