: News Article

High class cutters at dam site

04/11/2003

A big name supplier has been brought in to assist contractors at Ross River Dam lower the spillway.
Lowering the spillway is the first step in the dam upgrade. Gates will be fitted subsequently to retain storage capacity.

Berry Wallsawing is legendary in a profession known for initiative, hard work and flexibility.

The Melbourne based company has set up on site and is part way through work to help remove a 40m x 8m section of the spillway. Their engineers have built a bandsaw which runs diamond encrusted steel wire on a continuous loop through the structure.

NQ Water CEO Ken Diehm welcomed the arrival of Berry Wallsawing saying the company’s presence would expedite the process.

"The discovery of extra steel in the spillway was a hitch and we are running on a tight deadline," Mr Diehm said. "This company specialises in this sort of work and has built an international reputation as the best at what they do.

"The fact that (Company Principal) Greg Berry was in Australia at all is fortunate and we’re confident in the company’s ability to deliver."

Berry Wallsawing has a proven track record. In 1992 the company provided for the ‘seismic isolation’ of New Zealand’s Parliament House by cutting through the foundations, allowing the building to shift in the event of an earthquake.

The company’s work to remove 50 tonnes of faulty concrete from a bridge north of San Francisco in 2001 was conducted 45 metres below the surface. Locally, it has provided specialist services for large scale concrete cutting works to Mount Isa Mines since 1986.

Greg Berry completed 22 round-the-world trips last year as an international consultant. He was contracted to a multi-national company to provide services at the World Trade Centre site following the Sept 11, 2001 attacks.

Mr Berry gauged the Ross River Dam spillway lowering project as a reasonable sized job saying in his experience, Australian engineers and crews were among the most technically proficient in the world.

© 2004 NQ Water