Client: Harbour City Ferries (formerly Sydney Ferries)
Engineer: MEC
Contractor: GPM Constructions Pty Ltd
The hydraulic ramps serving the passenger ferry service at Circular Quay were originally installed in the early 1980’s. There are three pairs of ramps, one at Manly and two at Circular Quay. The ramps had performed well for more than 30 years but were nearing the end of their life with the cost of maintenance escalating and the risk of serious breakdown increasing. Sydney Ferries (now Harbour City Ferries) decided to replace the ramps incorporating improvements identified by Sydney Ferries and MEC. The design, fabrication and installation of the new ramps required great precision in terms of the ramp geometry and adherence to a very tight programme.
MEC were selected as the consulting engineer for the with Steve Fitzhenry as the project engineer and John Macartney as the director responsible. MEC designed, documented and supervised the installation of the new ramps incorporating a range of modifications in consultation with the client. The project was completed under a GC21 form of contract.