Your new Footscray Hospital - Meet the builders

What are your work hours?

Our standard work hours are 7.00 am - 8.00 pm Monday to Friday, and 9.00 am - 6.00 pm on Saturdays.

This is in accordance with Maribyrnong City Council’s General Purpose Local Law 2015.

Will you be working on Sundays?

We will work standard working hours wherever possible, but there will be times when working at night, and on Sundays or public holidays is unavoidable.

This includes work that cannot be practicably and safely completed during normal business hours, such as activities that involve continuous work (e.g. major concrete pours) or work that could cause major disruption to the transport system if done during the day.

If planned Sunday or night works are required, we will notify nearby residents and business owners when this is to occur.

What construction is happening/has happened so far?

Almost all piling and drilling works are now complete.

We will continue excavation on site until the end of 2021. As areas of the site reach the end of excavation, concrete bases will be poured in preparation to begin formwork.

Five tower cranes have been erected with one more to be installed before the end of the year.

How big will your workforce be and where are they going to park?

We expect there will be up to 2,000 people working on site at the peak of construction.

We encourage the workforce to use public transport, carpool and use nearby car park facilities wherever possible.

Maribyrnong City Council will be responsible for enforcing Residential Permit Parking Areas and timed street parking spaces areas.

What are you doing to manage noise?

To reduce noise impacts to our community, the following mitigation measures are in place:

• 24-hour noise monitors installed at Victoria University, Saltwater Child Care Centre and on Federal Street
• if noise levels exceed the pre-determined limits, an automatic notification is sent to the Project team for investigation. If it is identified that noise limits are being exceeded due to construction, a change in work practices is implemented to bring noise levels back within limits
• a 2.7m high hoarding and ‘double skinning’ along sections of Federal Street to provide a physical noise barrier between the site and neighbours
• undertaking proactive noise impact assessments by an acoustic consultant prior to key construction activities commencing.

What are you doing to manage vibration?

24-hour vibration monitors have been installed at Victoria University, Saltwater Child Care Centre and on Federal Street with alarms triggered when vibration levels exceed the limit set by the project.

Where possible, we are facilitating construction during normal working hours and using equipment and construction methods that generate less noise and/or vibration.

What are you doing to manage dust?

We understand that dust from construction activities can impact the local community.

While some level of dust on a project of this scale is unavoidable, we are minimising the dust generated from the site by:

• dampening down the excavation areas with water
• limiting stockpiles of materiel left on site
• using water sprays to suppress dust
• covering trucks transporting materials
• washing down trucks prior to leaving site
• undertaking review of control measure on a regular basis to ensure effectiveness.

24-hour air quality dust monitors have been placed outside of the site to monitor dust levels. If levels exceed a specified limit of particles in the air, the construction team will investigate the dust levels. If it is identified that dust level limits are being exceeded as a result of construction, a change in work practices is implemented to bring dust levels back within limits.

What are you doing to manage traffic impacts and truck movements during construction?

During the construction period, Ballarat Road and Geelong Road will not be closed during peak hours. However, traffic management will be on hand to control movements of construction vehicles in and out of the site.

We are advising drivers of trucks and large construction vehicles prior to arriving to the site that there is no access via Tiernan Street and Federal Street. In addition, signage has been placed at the intersection of Ballarat Road and Tiernan Street advising that there is no access.

We are working with our contractors and suppliers to encourage vehicles to use Droop Street instead.

Does the site have a COVID-19 safe plan?

A COVIDSafe Plan is in place on the New Footscray Hospital project site and all workers and visitors are required to comply with that plan. The Plan includes ensuring compliance with government directions such as wearing face masks at all times unless there is a lawful reason not to wear one.

How is the impact to cycling paths being managed during construction?

The New Footscray Hospital Project obtained the appropriate permits and approvals from both the Department of Transport and Maribyrnong City Council prior to making any changes to the bike path and services lane on Geelong Road. This involved construction of a new temporary path on the verge, which maintains access on Geelong Road.

In the interest of cyclist and pedestrian safety, the cyclist dismount signage was installed due to the shared (cyclists and pedestrians) nature of the temporary path.

We continue to work with the Council to understand the community’s feedback on the changes to the surrounding area (including actively exploring options) and are committed to providing safe alternatives for road and path users for the duration of the project.

Upon completion, the new Footscray Hospital improvements will leverage existing strategic cycling corridors, promote and encourage sustainable transport options, and give hospital staff, visitors and day patients the opportunity to cycle to the hospital rather than use a car.

Improvements include:

• A new shared use path will be constructed along the new hospital boundary on Geelong Road. This path will connect Droop Street (which is recognised by the Department of Transport as a strategic cycling corridor) to Footscray Park and Ballarat Road east of the new Footscray Hospital where on-road bicycle lanes are provided at present in the wider road reserve.
• Improvements will be made to the pedestrian crossings at the Ballarat Road / Geelong Road intersection to improve pedestrian and cycling access between the new shared use path to Footscray Park, the Maribyrnong River Trails and Nicholson Street, which is a key cycling route to/from Footscray CAD/Station.
• Signage and line marking improvements will be made on Federal Street and Tiernan Street to include these streets as informal cycling routes. This will include the installation of 'sharrow' line markings to designate the streets as shared environments where cycling movements can be expected.
• The new Geelong Road / new Footscray Hospital Access Road signalised intersection (located northeast of Federal Street) will be designed with a widened pedestrian and cycling crossing with bicycle lanterns to allow safe cycling movements.
• The new hospital will include approximately 600 bicycle parking spaces for staff, supported by end of trip facilities, and more than 100 bicycle parking spaces for visitors, positioned near the Droop Street strategic cycling corridor.

What is being done to encourage and support active travel?

We have incorporated the following as part of the design:

• enhanced pedestrian movement north-south and east-west across the site
• creation of a pedestrianised ‘Hospital Street’ separated from vehicle movements through the centre of the site and connecting the southwest corner of the site to Victoria University
• improved public realm along Geelong and Ballarat roads to improve pedestrian and cycling amenity to these streets
• new signalised pedestrian crossings on Geelong and Ballarat roads to provide enhanced connections to surrounding land uses and public transport
• creation of pedestrian links through the site connecting the Hospital and Victoria University to existing public transport stops on Droop Street and Ballarat Road
• formalisation of two on-street bus bays in each direction on Ballarat Road.

I want to work on site. How do I get a job?

We’re happy to receive expressions of interest from people looking for work on the project. You’re welcome to send your CV through to footscray@theconnectivitycentre.com.au and a member of the project team will be in touch if there are any opportunities available.

Are you using many local suppliers on the project?

Absolutely. Plenary Health has been given strict targets to meet in accordance with the Victorian Government’s Local Jobs First policy, which includes targets for minimum local content. The project will be built using more than 90 per cent of materials, services and equipment sourced from local businesses.

How do I become a supplier?

We’re happy to receive expressions of interest from companies wanting to become a supplier to the project. You can send a brief email outlining the services you’re interested in providing to NFH.suppliers@multiplex.global. We’d also encourage you to register your company profile with ICN, the Industry Capability Network, at gateway.icn.org.au.

What is a PPP?

The new hospital is being delivered as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). This involves bringing together a private consortium to design, construct, finance and maintain the new hospital over 25 years.

On 10 March 2021, following an extensive tender process, the Plenary Health consortium was officially awarded the contract to deliver the new Footscray Hospital with the parties successfully achieving financial close on 11 March 2021.

The Plenary Health consortium comprises:

• Plenary Group as sponsor and investor
• Multiplex as builder
• Honeywell and Compass as the facilities and maintenance managers
• Sojitz Corporation as investor.

The design team is led by Cox Architecture and Billard Leece Partnership.

The new Footscray Hospital will continue to be a public hospital. The health service providers will continue to be Western Health, supported by Orygen and Mercy Health which provide mental health services.

Who are the Project partners?

This project is being delivered by the Victorian Health Building Authority in partnership with:

• Western Health
• Plenary Health consortium
• Victoria University.

In partnership with the Victorian Government and Plenary Health, Victoria University Polytechnic is the project’s lead skills and training partner.

Additionally, a footbridge over Ballarat Road will link Victoria University to the new Footscray Hospital giving direct access to Victoria University’s dedicated education and research space.