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Four people wearing yellow safety vests, hard hats, and work boots stand in front of a large concrete tunnel entrance at a culvert replacement WA site with rocky surroundings.
Our Projects -

East Intercourse Island Culvert Refurbishment

Client

Rio Tinto

Location

EII Dampier WA

Project Date

July 2023

DCI Group delivered high-risk culvert remediation at Rio Tinto’s East Intercourse Island, protecting critical rail and stormwater infrastructure while maintaining full port and rail operations. Our civil teams executed precision relining works in confined, live conditions, coordinating across active interfaces to safeguard asset integrity without operational disruption.

The Challenge

A visual inspection revealed Rio Tinto’s 66-metre culvert at East Intercourse Island Car Dumper 2 was in critical disrepair, with imminent collapse risk threatening the rail formation and stormwater management system. The 4-metre diameter steel multi-plate culvert sat beneath active rail infrastructure serving the car dumper and port operations. DCI Group was engaged to remediate the asset through relining, eliminating failure risk while keeping rail and port interchange fully operational throughout. The project demanded confined space work, staged access, precise coordination with port movements, and zero tolerance for disruption to critical logistics pathways.

Our Solution

DCI Group developed a staged remediation plan using internal civil and plant crews. Our team excavated and removed soil build-up from the existing corrugated steel culvert and drainage swale, then constructed a new reinforced concrete headwall and apron at the outlet. We installed aluminium plate lining along the full 66-metre length and filled voids between original and new lining for structural integrity. Rock protection was placed at inlet and outlet, including remediation of batter slump to tie the culvert into the existing embankment. Existing water pipes running through the culvert were carefully disconnected, removed and realigned without impacting site services.

The Result

DCI Group completed the culvert remediation over four months, on time and without interrupting rail or port operations. The relined asset now operates to full structural capacity, eliminating collapse risk and protecting stormwater management for the car dumper and surrounding areas. All works met Rio Tinto’s operational, safety and environmental standards. Continuous coordination with port and rail teams ensured uninterrupted logistics flow throughout construction. Rio Tinto acknowledged DCI’s sequencing, execution and integrated delivery, reinforcing our capability to protect critical infrastructure through controlled, compliant civil remediation in live mining environments.

Download our Capability Statement