Dawn West: Around $2.5M Saved in Earthworks
Engineer: Inertia Engineering
Tech Solution:Level AI & Service AI
Location: Walloon, Queensland, Australia
Estate: Approximately 1,800 lots
Road network: 10 km
AI grading and servicing for a Queensland master-planned community
Dawn West is a major new neighbourhood within the Dawn master-planned community at Walloon, in Queensland’s western Ipswich growth corridor. As part of an 1,800-lot estate, it extends the urban footprint with a mix of residential streets, parks and green corridors arranged around a rehabilitated waterway and floodplain.
Within this context, Dawn West presents a complex grading and drainage challenge, balancing efficient earthworks, flood resilience and buildable lot levels. To tackle this, the lead civil engineer partnered with Allsite.ai, using Level AI to rapidly iterate and optimise road geometry, lot grading and earthworks volumes while preserving the intent of the master plan.
The Challenge
The Dawn West project had a large amount of grade to deal with on the site along with strict flooding requirements. Balancing the cut and fill on the site was critical to keep development costs down. Fast iteration was very important— producing a balanced site and full servicing design (storm and sanitary) within a week or two.
Technology in Action
Inertia Engineering used Level AI to iterate road geometry, lot grading and earthworks volumes while preserving the master plan. The team configured minimum pad elevations and maximum retaining-wall heights, with roads designed to local engineering rules.
Flood modelling used TUFLOW through Allsite’s automations. Service AI designed storm and sanitary inverts and sized the pipes, while the Allsite web app produced the drawings automatically. The model explored billions of iterations to balance earthworks to within 200 m³.
The Results
The client saved approximately $2.5 million in earthworks costs compared with the initial supplied design surface. Level AI achieved an earthworks balance within 200 m³ while addressing buildable lot levels, road grades and flood constraints.
This project shows how coordinated grading and pipe-network design can support faster engineering decisions on complex residential developments. Explore Level AI and Service AI, view more case studies, or discuss your project.
“This isn’t just about software—it’s about rethinking how we approach feasibility and land planning,”
— Scott Clements
Director, Inertia Engineering