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2004 Winner
Alice Springs to Darwin Rail Link ADrail Joint Venture

The Alice Springs to Darwin rail link has been awarded the highest accolade for construction achievement in Australia, the 2004 Australian Construction Achievement Award. General Peter Cosgrove AC MC, Chief of the Defence Force, presented the award at a gala dinner in Sydney tonight, attended by almost 400 guests from the construction industry.

The $1 billion project, by the ADrail Joint Venture, delivered the 1420km track that linked all of Australia’s mainland cities by rail, and completed the longest single gauge railway in the world.

The ADrail Joint Venture project was driven by project manager KBR, leading rail experts and constructors John Holland and Barclay Mowlem, and remote earthworks specialist Macmahon.

The Chairman of Adrail, Dick Wright said, “It is gratifying that this award pays tribute to the efforts of more than 1300 people who delivered this nation-building project, especially the team of skilled and dedicated engineers and constructors.

“This fantastic team effort helped us to complete the railway five months ahead of schedule - an impressive feat given the formidable challenges of distance, climate and terrain.

“Australia's largest remote infrastructure project since the Snowy Mountains scheme was one of the most successful engineering and construction projects on a number of fronts.

“Brilliant engineering design, water-tight project management and outstanding construction performance have been critical to the success of what has accurately been described as one of Australia’s greatest infrastructure achievements.

“It inspired many great innovations, set new benchmarks in occupational health and safety and indigenous participation, finally linked all mainland capital cities, and provided a new and successful trade route, both domestically and internationally.

“It has also had a significant impact in the Northern Territory, including a large proportion of the $1.1 billion construction cost spent in the Territory, a boost in employment - especially among indigenous Territorians - and plenty of anecdotal evidence that it’s had a huge psychological impact,” Dick Wright said.