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Hanging Touch: Rutledge Drilling's Award Winning Project

5 February, 2026

Urban geotechnical drilling doesn’t offer second chances. Rutledge Drilling’s stabilisation of the Howard Smith Wharves cliffs in Brisbane wasn’t just technically demanding — it was carried out above one of the city’s busiest riverfront precincts, with thousands of people moving beneath the work zone each day. The project has now been recognised as the 2025 Australian Drilling Industry Association (ADIA) Drilling Project of the Year.

Here’s what that meant on the ground:

  • 3,746.9 metres of drilling using 100mm rods
  • 36,768 litres of grout placed under controlled conditions
  • 7,844.45 m² of high-tensile mesh installed
  • Seven lightweight slope drills operating via rope-access methods
  • Zero unplanned closures or safety incidents

Crews worked fully suspended on near-vertical faces. Noise, dust, vibration and exclusion zones had to be tightly managed. Methodology was developed collaboratively from tender stage with Epoca Construction and Brisbane City Council. And in one extraordinary moment, rope-access technicians intervened to rescue a young woman attempting suicide on the cliff — a real-world demonstration of preparedness under pressure.

As Managing Director James Rutledge said: “To be put on display in front of our whole industry, and then to receive the award – it’s a pretty unreal feeling.” This project wasn’t just about drilling holes. It was about:

  • Public safety in a live urban environment
  • Environmental and heritage compliance
  • Engineering precision under rope-access constraints
  • Team coordination across multiple separable portions
  • Innovation, including custom dust-suppression systems

Rutledge Drilling didn’t just deliver a stabilisation project. They delivered a benchmark for complex urban geotechnical work in Australia. This is what disciplined, collaborative, safety-led drilling looks like in 2026.

Read the full article in the Australasian Drilling Magazine