In 2013 the Transport Minister made a $30m commitment to upgrade South Coast Highway following a visit to the region and witnessing the substandard geometry and pavement width of the road. This funding has been used for several upgrades in that time, however the marquee project is the Kojaneerup Section.

This 20 kilometre section of road has been identified for improvement by the region for decades, with potential upgrades long in development. The primary constraint preventing the upgrade of this stretch of road to this point has been the environmentally sensitive nature of the location, being located in the middle of a national park.

The Great Southern Region (GSR) has lacked continuity in the environmental space, with 6 different Environmental Officers working for the region over the past 7 years. This, compounded with Environmental Officers not being based permanently in regional offices, has caused difficulties in developing environmental approval submissions, with several recent GSR projects being significantly delayed or constrained by the environmental approvals process.

Commencing with Main Roads in late 2018, Stuart has been the most recent Environmental Officer for the Region, and over the course of the last 12 months has had a profound impact on the way the Great Southern Region manages environmental matters. This has not been more evident in the way Stuart has managed the environmental approval process for the Kojaneerup project.

Stuart is construction focussed, with a philosophy of “let’s get approval for what you need to build the job”. This has complimented the region’s Project Manager, Kim Hawkins, who over his 30+ years working with Main Roads has a wealth of experience in both construction and managing the delivery of projects, including in environmentally sensitive areas such as the award winning Fitzgerald River National Park upgrade.

Whilst acknowledging the project will have an impact to the environment, with a large quantum vegetation clearing within a national park proposed, the team have looked at the impacts pragmatically. To obtain clearances to carry out these works Stuart and Kim have prepared environmental documentation that is of an incredibly high standard, better representing the environmental impacts of the project and providing clarity for the Contractors carrying out works to minimise the risk of environmental incidents occurring. Without the team’s involvement, the submission for environmental approval would have restricted the region’s ability to construct the upgrades to South Coast Highway to the required safety standards, and potentially not have been approved by the Commonwealth and State Government’s all together.

As a result of Kim and Stuart’s work, the Environmental Management Plan has already been developed for the potential Contractor of this project, providing Main Roads with better control over the environmental management of the project and reducing the likelihood of environmental incidents. The team’s work in protecting threatened flora in the national park, the Leucopogon plant, has seen the population of this endangered species rise from 30 known individuals to approximately 1100 plants as a direct result of flora surveys conducted for this project.

 Coming from private industry, Stuart has brought an attitude of innovation and challenged the status quo at Main Roads. Stuart’s willingness to ensure environmental approvals meet the needs of delivery personnel and are completed by the regulator in timely manners has brought about a shift in the way Main Roads prepares environmental submissions. Kim and the Great Southern Region have bought in to this philosophy which is producing great results for Main Roads, none more so than for the Kojaneerup project.

The quantum of clearing and environmental sensitivity of the Kojaneerup project make it the type of project that Environment Branch would always refer to the Commonwealth Government, necessitating an anticipated timeframe of almost 2 years for approval. Stuart and Kim challenged this line of thinking, evaluating the actual impact of the project and prepared an alternative pathway to obtain environmental clearances that allows for construction in mid 2020. This pathway, ultimately supported by Manager Environment and currently in process, has saved 18 months of waiting for Commonwealth approvals, and now sets a precedent for Main Roads to allow for more timely approvals for all future projects

The work of Kim and Stuart has resulted not only in expediting the delivery of this much needed projects, but also reduced costs and a better environmental outcome. The clearing footprint for this project has been developed to entirely encompass all works under the project, allowing construction of the ideal upgrade to the road. The environmental submission has avoided the payment of approximately $2m of environmental offset costs, a great outcome for the organisation. Kim and Stuart have fostered great relationships with the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) as a part of the consultation process for this project, which will assist Main Roads in managing environmental matters with DWER in future.

The work of Stuart and Kim to reach this point of development for this priority project is a great outcome for the environment, for the road users of this state and for the organisation. They would be deserving winners of the Managing Director’s Excellence Award for Sustainability.