News bulletin 10 -> 16 Mar 2021
Design changes have been made to the future M12 that will provide access to the Nancy-Bird Walton Airport in Western Sydney, with two new connections around Elizabeth Drive. Construction procurement will start soon with the release of Registration of Interest (ROI); major work is expected to commence in 2022.
A recently released report by Victoria found women in semi-skilled roles in construction and trades experience high rates of discrimination and a lack of workplace support. RMIT was involved in the study and stated "without substantial and systemic change, we will continue to see the under-representation of women in the construction industry".
Consultation on the Northern Territory's proposed reforms to building regulations is open until 1 April 2021. Included are establishing a framework for CPD for building practitioners; creating a new category of registration for commercial builders; establishing a 3rd party peer review of structural designs of complex buildings above 3 storeys; increasing capacity to undertake audits on buildings; and increasing penalties for disciplinary action by the Building Practitioners Board.
In the US, 'Space Age Concrete' (pictured) for precast products has been developed which is strengthened by a glass-reinforced rebar and is much lighter than its steel counterpart while being five times stronger.
Meanwhile in the UK, pieces of former wind turbine blades made of glass fibre-reinforced polymer will be trialled for use instead of steel rebar to reinforce concrete in parts of the HS2 project. The National Composites Centre is involved in the recycling initiative with the contractor JV Skanska Costain Strabag.
HeidelbergCement's US subsidiary is working with a materials technology to implement a new type of carbon capture and utilisation technology in a pilot installation at Lehigh Hanson's cement facility in California. They expect a 60% reduction in CO₂ emissions per tonne of product at a new commercial plant where CO₂ will be captured from the kiln exhaust and converted into a cementitious material, with the final product suitable for a new low carbon SCM.