Wagstaff Piling was contracted to design and install the retention and foundation piles for the Prince of Wales Hospital Redevelopment in Sydney. Wagstaff Piling was engaged very early in the project to provide design services and construction advice given the critical nature of the operating hospital and to ensure that services to the hospital would not be compromised. This included incorporating the detailed service location, sizing and orientation of piles and anchors to miss the services.
The cased CFA system using a Soilmec SR-95 piling rig was proposed and accepted as the most appropriate technique for retention piles for this site given the upper loose to medium dense sand formation. The cased CFA system ensures stability of the sand layer and elimination of de-densification of the sand layer and therefore protection of the nearby services. In addition, this system provides a superior finish to the piles and much tighter vertical tolerances. Temporary cased bored piles were adopted for the foundation piles. Further challenges at this site included very tight access and sloping ground levels requiring multiple working platforms to safely install the piles. The project was completed successfully and within the required program. This is another example of the cased CFA system providing safety, production and quality benefits over other traditional piling techniques.
