An electric excavator, tip-truck and utes are just a few of the new environmentally efficient additions to the construction fleet being trialled on the Pakenham Roads Upgrade.
Heading around the project site as part of a trial by project contractor Symal, the pilot features an electric tip truck, an electric excavator, portable charging infrastructure and hybrid utes.
“Innovation on the jobsite is about more than just how we upgrade the road, so it’s a great development to see electric excavators, tip trucks and vehicles getting trialled on the Pakenham Roads Upgrade,” Big Build Roads Acting Program Director Leigh Crump said.
“With these vehicles able to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, it’s another construction step forward to make roads projects more ecologically sustainable.”
Early modelling shows these electric vehicles alone could reduce carbon emissions by 10 tonnes a year while decreasing harmful diesel particulates for workers within the project site.
The vehicles are charged on site by a mains power generator, with a full charge giving the vehicles between 8-10 hours of runtime.
Crews are hard at work completing the new-look culverts over Pakenham Creek to allow Racecourse Road to reopen later this month.
In the new year, the new Racecourse Road southbound lanes between Henry Street and Bald Hill Road will open ahead of the completion of the intersection at Bald Hill Road and Racecourse Road.
The intersection is being upgraded with a set of traffic lights, allowing easier access through this area of Pakenham.
For more information on the project and any current works, please visit the Big Build website or search for “Pakenham Roads Upgrade”.
