FROM THE
GROUND UP
SINCE ESTABLISHING ITSELF IN AUSTRALIA IN 2008, HIWAY GROUP HAS GROWN AND EXPANDED TO BE A MAJOR SOILS AND PAVEMENT STABILISATION CONTRACTOR, WITH INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS SUCH AS THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY UPGRADE PROJECT UNDER ITS BELT.
A
ccording to research published in international soil mechanics journal Géotechnique in 1983, soil movement is of great importance in Australia. This is due to the fact that around 20 per cent of the total surface soils in Australia consist of expansive soils. Expansive soils are those with excessive swelling such as clay minerals and can be affected by water, drying or surrounding vegetation. Consequently, soil movement can affect the structures created on top of them unless the swelling and drying movements over seasonal and weather events can be treated. Stabilisation is one effective and sustainable method for achieving this. Due to Australia’s vast size and diverse soils, one New Zealand family decided to bring its successful road stabilisation business to Australia in 2008. The Boocock family, founders of Hiway Hiway Group’s main stabilisation company – Hiway Stabilizers – reaches all of Australia.
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ROADS APRIL 2020
Stabilizers, believed stabilisation would be an environmentally sustainable and effective way to repair and construct roads and provide strong and resilient foundations. Over the past 12 years, the business has expanded across Australia with a group of companies providing stabilisation, profiling and micropatching solutions. Paul Rhoden, Hiway Group General Manager of the Northern Region, says the company’s diverse locations and key products cover each stage of road stabilisation. Hiway Group’s main stabilisation company, Hiway Stabilizers, reaches all of Australia. This spread, and its large fleet of specialised plant and people, means the company has the resources to scale up on major long term projects. Recently, Hiway Stabilizers provided up to eight subgrade stabilising crews on a major regional infrastructure project for an extended period. Mr. Rhoden says each company under the
Hiway Group aims to provide sustainable solutions for road and infrastructure projects across Australia’s diverse landscape. “One of the key products for the company is subgrade modification, which adds a small quantity of stabilising additive to improve the engineering properties of the in-situ soils. This additive is lime, cement or triple blend stabilisation depending on the inherent or underlying ground conditions that we encounter,” he says. To determine the right additive design, extensive testing prior to stabilising the soil is performed. This is to assess the material’s properties and determine which modification is best suited to the ground conditions to achieve the design outcome criteria. “In collaboration with our clients, we are always looking for environmentally sustainable solutions that offer best wholeof-life value for infrastructure projects. Our in-house pavement and mix design group have a wealth of experience in
