Blacktown City Council civil works projects

Growing transport requirements and improving connectivity

RPS was engaged by the Blacktown City Council to deliver a program of civil works projects to upgrade roads, drainage, and recreation areas to cater for increased growth across the municipality. 

Meeting transport and recreational needs

Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, in Australia. Situated approximately 35 kilometres west of the Sydney CBD, this municipality is home to 54 residential suburbs. As the largest Council in the state of New South Wales geographically, and the fourth largest in Australia, Blacktown had specific transport and recreational needs and challenges.   

Boasting a population of 415,000 people, and with nearly 60 per cent of the demographic having families with children, the Council needed to revitalise and expand its existing recreational areas, while improving and upgrading its transportation to allow its residents to get around with ease. 

To ensure Blacktown could deliver on this vision, Council initiated a partnership with suitable companies to help them deliver - RPS is a part of that and is now helping deliver a wide range of infrastructure to the Blacktown Community.

Delivering works in Sydney’s fasting growing corridor

The Blacktown City Council is on track to be larger than the national capital Canberra by 2036, and RPS is supporting Council to lay the foundations for critical infrastructure that will future proof the city. As part of these works, the RPS team is managing significant upgrades in these growth areas. 

One of the major challenges the city faces is that it is prone to floods, with the potential for little rivulets to form throughout the suburbs. RPS is managing projects to instal new drainage systems, which include detention basins, large stormwater channels and culverts. These upgrades will enable the entire area to be serviced with proper drainage to protect against flooding. It will also ensure that developers can build new housing estates on previously undeveloped land, with essentials such as footpaths added, as the sprawling city expands. 

The transformation from semi-rural lots to more dense residential sub-divisions, also requires upgrades to existing roads, and building new roads. To cater for this need, RPS is managing road upgrade projects including bike paths, shared amenities, street lighting, and landscaping.      

Better public transport connectivity is also part of the city’s growth plan. As part of this, RPS is supporting Council to deliver an important Bus Link. This will provide direct access for bus services between the suburbs in the Northwest Area and the Greater Penrith to Eastern Creek Growth Area, which are currently not connected.   

RPS project managers (PMs) are also overseeing the development of several public spaces within the city, which includes recreational facilities such as picnic tables, BBQs, and playgrounds. Within this scope, RPS will also be delivering amenities such as change rooms, toilet facilities, shower blocks, and areas to take shelter. Sports also takes a big focus within these projects, and RPS will be managing the upgrade and creation of sports fields that will cater for cricket, soccer, and other multi-purpose activities. 

Bringing coordination to complexity

RPS’ PMs are supporting Council through the entire lifecycle of these program of works, from the conception of design through to approvals and procurement, and then construction.  

The most complicated part of each project is the interface with the existing infrastructure such as water, sewerage, electricity, and communications infrastructure. The team are also working in one of Sydney’s oldest zones, therefore, facing outdated existing infrastructure. Aside from technical complexity, there’s also a layer of delivery strategy complexity. There are multiple approval processes that are required, such as environmental and utility approvals, to be able to relocate existing infrastructure. Heritage protection is an important issue for Blacktown, including Aboriginal Heritage approvals and these must be dealt with sensitively. The works are also being delivered through a variety of different arrangements including construction contractors and Developer agreements (Works In Kind and Voluntary Planning Agreements).  

The RPS team have been successfully coordinating with the Council, existing developers, the state government, and contractors to bring ease to this program of works, so each project is delivered seamlessly.