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Aboriginal Heritage Vegetation Clearing Earthworks Foundation and Embankment

Topsoil Removal

Building the RoadRoad construction activities progress south from Beagle Bay towards Broome

The project continues clearing vegetation on either side of the

existing road and for construction material along the alignment,

as well as clearing an alignment for a new road designed to

smooth bends in the existing road.

Under the direct management of Main Roads, a crew operates graders, watercarts and rollers to prepare the existing road to a suitable level for road construction. Another construction crew build up the road with graders, watercart, rollers and scrapers to create embankments to lift the new road.

Managed directly by Main Roads to achieve revegetation

outcomes for the project is the process of stripping topsoil.

Surveyors

During the construction process, control points are installed.

These control points communicate the road design to the

construction crew indicating the width and height of the road

and culverts.

WWW.MAINROADS.WA.GOV.AU

Main Roads works closely with traditional owners and Nyul Nyul

Rangers from Beagle Bay community. Together, we undertake

cultural, heritage and environmental monitoring, which includes

Bilby surveys to ensure works do not impact upon heritage sites

and active Bilby areas.

Frederick Charles is a Traditional Owner from around the Beagle Bay area. He has

been a cultural monitor and advisor for about three years. Frederick is monitoring

the gravel pit about 5 kms out of Beagle Bay and towards Redsoil. Cultural Monitors

and advisors check for any disturbance and look out for Bilby tracks. When he is

monitoring an area, he puts up ribbons to let others know, (both cultural advisors

and Traditional Owners), exactly which area has been surveyed.

Joseph Roe from Broome is a Bard, Nimanburr, Yawuru, Karajarri, Nyangumarta

man. He is working with Roadline as a labourer and traffic controller. He has been

with Roadline for four years and received on the job training and experience with

machinery.

Daniel Bassan is from Broome working for Roadline for five months supervising;

and as an excavator and mulcher operator.

“When they need us, they get us involved

or ring us up and let us know. We work

together and make sure this is a good

project.”

Zynal Cox lives in Beagle Bay and works for the Nyul Nyul Rangers. They assist the

project's clearing - on the road and at the gravel pit. Rangers have to go in first to

see if there is any signs of Bilby activities. No Bilbies have been found recently. Zynal

has worked alongside other the cultural monitors and Main Roads staff since 2017,

and this project is a big part of his Ranger role.

Mathew Pindan is a Walmajarri man from Derby. He is a grader operator clearing

all the top soil. He has operated a grader for about 20 years, mainly works in the

Kimberley.

Phillip Augustine from Beagle Bay undertaking cultural monitoring on the project.

“John Silver from Main Roads is a good

bloke, he will come and pick up us to

make sure we’re on time. We do about 7

hours a day depending on what sort of

monitoring we are doing. We walk through

the bush looking for any signs of artefacts.

The community is happy we’ve all got

something to do.”

“Family is happy with me being part of

the project with Main Roads and the new

road getting built. We can tell our families

we've been there. We've walked the road.

So that's a good thing for us.”

Walter Koster is from Beagle Bay working as a cultural monitor. He does checks

before any ground disturbance and checks for artefacts or anything cultural before

works start.

Jeffrey Pyman works for McCorry Brown operating a grader and is doing formation

work, clearing and grading.

“Haven't found anything in this area.”

(southern gravel pit near Beagle Bay).

“I like doing this job. The site supervisors

are alright. I see myself being here for the

rest of the year.

This job is really helping the people to

give them a better road.“

“Working on this road on this job liaising

with Main Roads, it has been really easy. I

help out and supervise the young guys,

encouraging on-the-job training. I also

managed to get Caleb Clifton from traffic

control onto operating the mulcher.”

“Doing 11 hours with travel and four days

off in a fortnight. I drive into town every

day and get home to my wife. The income

has helped my family. I got my own

house, got new tyres for my car and

becoming more independent”.

I am connected to the road, I got two

blocks on my mother's side and another

on my grandmother's side.”

“Direct management has requirements

(Main Roads) have to do, but they are always open. They're always approachable, and if you can come up with a better idea or something that's going to save a bit of time, they take that on-board and then they'll implement it if it really works for them. It's a good site to work on. Not far from town so when you need parts when you knock off its not a long distance to travel and everyone's really helpful.”

“I enjoy working with different cultures

here. I think it's a good thing. I've learnt a

lot about what they do out here … and

we had a smoking ceremony.“

“My kids think it is good I'm on the project. I help from start to the finish,

from walking the ground and operating machinery. Since starting, I've seen this road carved out of the bush to what it is now, an open highway. My country people want to join. Put in your name and come and join the crew.”

“I'm up here on a grader doing final trim for the Cape Leveque Road. This project is

a really good project to work on and everything seems to be going well. Everyone is getting along and we've got

really good crews working together, that's

the main thing.”

Dwayne Gordon is from Beagle Bay community with Nyul Nyul group, working for

Roadline operating a roller. He worked on the project last year with Marra Marra

operating a grader and roller. Dwayne has tickets for watercart, grader, excavator

and roller.

Michael Bone from Yarrawonga in Victoria and is a grader driver with McCorry

Brown. As a grader operator, he is responsible for organising where the materials go

and where the water is dumped. Michael is putting the materials onto the road for

the final height and another grader follows behind trimming the final height.

David Paddy is from Beagle Bay community. He started as traffic controller last year

and become the team leader. Last year, he was offered to operate a roller. This year,

David started working full-time with Jamali Hunter, doing 10 days fortnight and 10

hours a day plus the travel.

Jamie Cowdrey is from Broome. His cousin Russell Cowdrey asked Jamie to help. Cowdrey Linehaul, an Aboriginal business, is one of the watercart contractors on the project.

Chris Beveridge works for Roadline and originally from East Gippsland, Victoria.

“It's good to be involved in the project. I'm pretty happy to be a part of working on it and seeing progress. The team is fantastic. We all get along really well.

Everybody seems to have respect for everyone's position. The watercart is the grader's best friend and the roller driver is also the grader's best friend so you can't have one without the other. Really good working with Main Roads. They are more than reasonable.”

“I'm fixing up my car at moment and trying to look for another car, one for fishing and one for going to town.

It's a good thing having Aboriginal people on the project and an opportunity for us guys to have a go. They (Kullarri Regional Communities Incorporated) do a lot of training in the communities. My little man wants to be a grader or roller driver. Sees dad getting up every morning. Good thing about this project is it is close to home and close to family.”

Trevor Nepia from Bunbury is working

for Charles Hull, as a scraper operator.

The scraper is a self-loading machine

with a big bowl on the back and drops

dirt on the ground. The grader operator

will direct where to drop the dirt.

“Most of it is experience. You read

everything before you start dropping

dirt. We have good grader operators

and guys on this project. Main Roads

direct management is good, and so are

the supervisors. Good bunch of guys

and locals.”

Laurence Victor from Beagle Bay is working as a surveyor assistant with MNG

Survey, contracted by Kullarri Regional Communities Incorporated. He has learn how

to pick up points and heights and do control point checks; and set the base up.

Laurence puts in pegs and markers to show width and height of the road for the

grader, so they know what to cut.

Riley Pilcher is from Perth, working for MNG Survey. He uses a GPS that displays

the coordinates. He installs control points in the ground every 500 metres, so that

when the graders get to the location, they set up a GPS and it talks to the grader

and defines how high to build the road.

“I like earning income to keep up the

payment of rent and supporting my

family. It's a new experience and

something new to learn.

I travel to work every day. My family is

proud of me, they want me to keep it up

and don't give up. I have three family

members on the project. Main Roads

supervisors are good and keep you busy.

Doing roughly 12 hours a day, 10 days

fortnight.”

“Everything is a lot different to Perth, the

weather, the reception, having to rely on

radio and it's pretty dusty with all the cars

driving past.

I've been working with Laurence, Brett

and Errol, all locals from Beagle Bay and I

get along well with the boys. They share

little things like Aboriginal names for

things for around here. We start at 6am

for pre-start. At 4.30pm, I pack up the

equipment that helps the graders, so

roughly 10/11 hours days.”

Luke Nepia from Bunbury

(younger brother) is also with Charles Hull as a scraper operator.

“Best part is seeing your work complete as you work forward. You look behind you and it's done. Sometimes we get back home but depends on the flight costs as they

can be the same as staying up here.”

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Buidling the Road

Wednesday, 7 August 2019 8:10:37 AM