In late 2007 the South Australian state government gave the green light to upgrade the Victor Harbor Boat Ramp at Encounter Bay. The upgrade was designed in line with the South Australian Boat Facilities Advisory Committees Guidelines and included;

• The widening of the main basin area at the base of the ramp, and the creation of a sand beach for small craft beaching
• The provision of a 4 lane ramp measuring 24m in width and 46m in length with 2 floating pontoons.
• An upgraded parking facility to include trailer spaces

The salt water environment at the ramp, combined with heavy traffic loads and impact risk from vessels meant the concrete mix needed to be extremely durable.

Colin Boulden from Tonkin Consulting adds;

“In a marine environment such as this it is unlikely traditional reinforcement would meet the design life requirements. By using BarChip synthetic fibers we were able to eliminate the risk of corrosion while at the same time more than meet our reinforcement and design life requirements.”

Since this initial project, the South Australian government have used BarChip fibers to reinforce boat ramps at the Bay of Shoals, American River and on Kangaroo Island.