CPB Contractors’ delivery of Parramatta Connects Stage 1 Parramatta Light Rail project marks the first light rail project to feature grass tracks in New South Wales.
Installation of the grass tracks began this year and, once complete, will make up approximately 1.3 kilometres of grass and ground cover laid between and beside the light rail tracks.
Selecting the perfect turf for this Parramatta Connect development has seen the CPB Contractors team undertake comprehensive suitability testing of two different grass varieties at a local compound for 12 months. From this testing, Nara Zoysia was found to be the most suitable as it requires less maintenance than typical park turf and is tolerant of drought, heat, and salt.
Green ground cover and grass will be installed along 10 per cent of the Parramatta Light Rail alignment, which requires 81 per cent less concrete than the standard embedded track form. There are many environmental benefits of laying the grass track, including:
- Carbon reduction
- Mitigation of urban heat
- Absorption and retention of pollutants by the soil
- Retention of stormwater within the trackbed
- Noise reduction
- Increased biodiversity