Supplying complex road and tunnelling projects with fire and acoustic-rated wall systems is all in a day’s work for ASI associate member SPEEDPANEL®.

A specialist in lightweight, modular fire rated and acoustic wall systems, Speedpanel is proud to see its highly regarded systems deployed in one of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects: the landmark Westgate tunnel and road upgrade.

More than 4,500 of the company’s locally designed and manufactured panels have been installed throughout the Westgate Tunnel Project as a part of Victoria’s Big Build: a proud moment for the Australian-owned Speedpanel, further highlighting the capability of its systems in demanding underground and infrastructure environments.

Conceived in the late 1980s by a group of form workers who specialised in complex circular stairways and large suspended slabs for high-rise and commercial buildings, the company is now one Australia’s leading providers of lightweight, user-friendly wall system for fire and acoustic protection. Today, Speedpanel is recognised for its modular design, installation efficiency and ability to achieve significant spans. This spanning capability allows large areas to be efficiently enclosed with reduced reliance on additional structural support, providing greater flexibility in complex infrastructure environments. Combined with extensive certification, Speedpanel enables project teams to adapt to changing site conditions, service requirements and on-site demands. This capability was demonstrated at the West Gate Tunnel Project, where approximately 1.2 kilometres of continuous Speedpanel was installed within the underground road service corridor.

The lightweight panels are widely used across complex infrastructure builds due to their suitability for challenging construction environments, including working in confined work zones, coordination with multiple trades, structural interfaces, and projects requiring strict fire safety performance.

“The modular nature of Speedpanel allows for efficient installation sequencing, supporting program certainty on complex projects,” marketing manager Patrick Nikolic said.

“Over many years, Speedpanel has supported major infrastructure projects across Australia, including the Melbourne and Sydney Metro projects, NorthConnex Motorway, Western Sydney Airport, major over-station developments and many more.

Our experience across these projects has reinforced the importance of providing wall systems that are not only compliant and robust, but also practical to install in highly coordinated construction environments.”

Supported by ongoing investment in testing, certification and product development, Speedpanel provides confidence to project stakeholders through proven performance and clear tested pathways to compliance. Speedpanel systems are tested in accordance with AS 1530.4 and designed to achieve compliant fire resistance levels (FRLs), supporting passive fire compartmentation requirements across a wide range of building and infrastructure applications.

Patrick said the company was proud to form part of one of Victoria’s most important infrastructure builds.

“We are especially proud because we are a local Australian company. Supporting local infrastructure with locally manufactured systems reinforces both supply chain reliability and national capability.”

To learn more about SPEEDPANEL® in tunnels and infrastructure, go to https://speedpanel.com.au/tunnels-and-critical-infrastructure/