Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Street
(formerly known as Al Salam Street Upgrade)
Contractors: Samsung C&T (main), & Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi and Sons Contracting
Consultant: Parsons
Client: Abu Dhabi Government.
Total Concrete Poured: 1,067,000 m³
Project Duration: 3 years
Batching Plant: On-site
Transgulf Readymix is one of a handful of suppliers worldwide that have successfully completed a project that exceeds one million cubic meters of concrete.
An on-site batching plant was installed to build this project. This upgrade includes a 2.2 km long cut and a cover tunnel, and a 1.2 km road leading through the tunnel. This project is expected to double the streets current capacity from 3,000 to 6,000 cars/hour including a nonstop “green drive” that has no traffic signals.
The busiest phase was in May 2010 when 72,000 m³ of concrete were delivered in the midst of the hottest season. Steam curing was incorporated for 4,000 precast pre-stressed I-beam concrete girders while achieving 44 mPa within 16 hours.
Samsung C&T was grateful for Transgulf Readymix’s perfect safety record for this project. We had absolutely no safety incidents and it was one of the highlight mentions in Samsung C&T’s appreciation letter.
Etihad Rail (Package 2C)
Contractors: CRCC-GTGC
Consultant: Jacobs
Client: Etihad Railway
Total Concrete Poured: 295,000 m³
Project Duration: 5 years
Batching Plant: Jebel Ali & Le Hemaira
Overview of Package 2C
Package 2C is a key segment of the broader Stage 2 Etihad Rail Project, designed to provide efficient rail transportation for freight and, eventually, passengers. This 100-kilometer package links the Saudi Arabian and GCC Rail Network in the west to the Oman Border and GCC Rail Network in the east. It consists of approximately 80 kilometers of mainline and a 20-kilometer branch line to Jebel Ali Port, featuring a double track primarily constructed through urban and industrial areas.
Track and Civil Works
The track work includes both ballasted and slab tracks, as well as switches and crossings. The civil works encompass several essential components:
• Access Infrastructure: Development of highways & access roads, including approaches to overbridges, realignments, vehicle protection, lighting, pavement, drainage, utilities, line marking, and signage.
• Structures: Construction of various railway structures, including under bridges, underpasses, overbridges, pipeline crossings, environmental culverts, camel crossings, noise barriers, and fencing.
• Earthworks: Construction of railway formation and sub-ballast, along with windblown sand mitigation zones.
• Drainage: Creation of drainage basins and channels to manage water flow.
• Embankment Protection: Measures for erosion and scour protection of railway embankments.
Alignments and Interfaces
The Stage 2C network comprises three main alignments: DMB, DMC, and JBL. The DMC and DMB alignments primarily traverse open desert areas designated for future development. The JBL alignment connects the DMB/DMC routes to Jebel Ali Port and interfaces with several existing road networks, interchanges, and developments.
Key interfaces include:
• Jebel Ali Port
• E11, E311, and E611 Crossings (RTA Corridors)
• DEWA and Transco Overhead High Voltage Lines
• DIP Road Corridor (currently under construction)
• Desert Mainlines parallel to E611
• Existing Utilities and Structure Interfaces
The rail corridor proposed features a varying right-of-way width due to these constraints.
Alignment Details
• DMB: Approximately 26 kilometers of double track, featuring 14 turnouts and provisions for an additional 19 turnouts. Key interfaces include connections to Package 2B and passive provisions for the Dubai South passenger station, as well as various underpasses and bridges.
• DMC: Approximately 49 kilometers of double track, with 12 turnouts and provisions for another 23 turnouts. Key interfaces include connections to Package 2D, two set-off tracks with buffer stops, and various underpasses and bridges.
• JBL: Approximately 19 kilometers of predominantly single track with two passing loops, featuring 5 turnouts and provisions for an additional 6 turnouts. Key interfaces include the connection to Jebel Ali Rail Terminal.
The service life is designed for 100 years for key elements with some of them requiring core temperature control. The Transgulf Readymix team design special fly ash mixes capable of meeting both requirements. Moreover, the specially designed mixes were poured for piles reaching 70m depths and passing through congested steel reinforcment with ease.
Other unique mixes that were designed specifically for this project are ballast mixes. Transgulf Readymix worked with multiple suppliers to customize raw material grading and specifications to deliver consistent and quality products.
Expolink Metro Route 2020
Contractors: Acciona Gulmark, and Rizani De Eccher
Consultant: Parsons
Client: RTA
Total Concrete Poured: 650,000 m³
Project Duration: 3 years+
Batching Plant: On-site, & Jebel Ali plant.
The Route 2020 is an extension of the existing Dubai Metro Red Line from the Nakheel Harbor and Tower station to the Expo 2020 site. The alignment for the project includes approximately 2 km of bored tunnel excavated by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) and 10 km of elevated structures, including five elevated stations and two underground stations. The project aims to link up the Dubai Expo 2020 site with the city’s existing metro services.
The construction of elevated stations, underground stations, and cut & cover tunnel sections comprises of raft slab, concourse slab, and roof slab cast in stages with connectivity to diaphragm walls. The raft foundation of each underground station was divided into 24 segments with an average thickness of 3.50m and over 36,500 m³, The excavation of the cut & cover tunnel was supported by shotcrete. As for the pilecaps and piers, over 200 were cast using Transgulf Readymix’s concrete from Nakheel Harbor to the Expo 2020 site.
Strategic Enhancement Tunneling Programme (STEP) – Abu Dhabi
Contractors: Samsung C&T, and Salini Impregilo
Consultant: CH2M
Client: ADSSC
Total Concrete Poured: 215,000 m³
Project Duration: 6 years
Batching Plant: On-site
This tunneling project is one of the largest of its kind in the middle east and it’s laid out to expand the city’s sewerage network as part of the Plan Abu Dhabi 2030 with an investment of 5.7 billion dirhams. . Measuring at 45 km long with a 6 meter diameter, the tunnel links the northern part of Abu Dhabi Island at a depth of 24 m to the mainland at a depth of 80 m. The previous capacity of the city’s sewerage treatment system is 450,000 m³ of wastewater/day and the theoretical capacity with the tunnel expansion would raise that figure to 800,000 m³. The tunnel is designed for a 100 year operating service life in an aggressive environment exposing the concrete elements to high concentrations of chlorides and sulphates; This challenge was overcome with researching and developing the proper mixes for various exposure conditions.
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