Precast Concrete Wall Facings Deliver the Beauty of Design in Infrastructure

Precast wall panels Barwon Heads:  A $365 million transformation to one of southwest Melbourne’s key thoroughfares, the Barwon Heads Road Upgrade in Marshall, Geelong, showcases the potential of precast concrete to blend aesthetic appeal with structural integrity.

Reinforced Earth designed and supplied 811 TerraPlus® precast concrete wall facing panels for the project, totalling 2905 m2. Each precast wall panel is enhanced with a bespoke architectural design in rich ochre coloured concrete. The designs and colour reflect the lands and rich cultural heritage of the surrounding Wadawurrung Country.

Marshall is part of the Armstrong Creek Growth Area, a southern extension to Geelong’s urban growth boundary. It sits within Wadawurrung, an area that covers 10,000 km2 on the western side of Melbourne, including Geelong and Ballarat.

Better Connected and Safer Communities

A Major Road Projects Victoria initiative, this upgrade was jointly funded by the Australian and Victorian governments. Guided by traffic modelling and community feedback, the works included the removal of a level crossing and the construction of a new bridge over the rail line at Marshall. Now completed, the 97-meter-long, approximately 9-meter-high bridge enhances connectivity, traffic flow and commuter safety.

Artistic Precast Panels with Cultural Significance

Reinforced Earth supplied the 811 TerraPlus® precast wall panels in a Class 2 finish for the bridge’s approach ramps. The design, using just two liners rotated to create four different patterns, integrates art into infrastructure, while honouring local Traditional Owners. The panels, featuring vertically broken boomerang flanks, were designed by the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC) and finished in an earthy tone reflecting the region’s soils.

Mindful of our Carbon Footprint

Mindful of minimising carbon footprint, Reinforced Earth manufactured the precast retaining wall panels with a 25% SCM concrete mix. Scoria fill was used to reduce the amount of ground improvement needed in the foundation layer to support the walls, while Reinforced Earth also added the use of ReHAr steel strips between the soil blocks to enhance ground improvement to deliver further wall stabilisation.

The Barwon Heads Road Upgrade, which completed in 2023, not only improved infrastructure but also created more than 570 direct jobs and 1,419 indirect jobs during construction.

Contact your local Reinforced Earth Australia office to incorporate precast concrete in your next project. Discover more about Reinforced Earth’s precast solutions (RECO Precast) here.