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Molonglo Water Main News |
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19 May 2019 From the pipeline project manager "The pipe installation has been completed. Work continues on some of the more detailed construction tasks, such as construction of concrete pits, minor electrical works, and as I am sure you would have noticed, further site clean-up / topsoil in the last week or two. "Grassing will commence through the rural paddocks (Bottom Pinnacle and Tullys') in the next week. Due to some unforeseen hold ups, we are not yet ready to seed the reserve as further construction traffic is expected to complete the remain works. As a result of this, we expect grassing within the reserve is likely to commence mid – late June. I will keep you updated on this. "Over the next fortnight we will commence relocation of the oversized rocks which remain stockpiled in the construction corridor (typically 500mm to 1m in diameter). This will be moved outside the reserve as per the original construction plans. The location is shown on the map below. "Over the next 4-5 weeks, most onsite works will be completed and then we will remove the site security fence as soon as it is safe to do so." Reserve users should therefore see the Reserve starting to return to normal around the beginning of July. 20 Feb 2019 Access to the dam across the closed section of the Valley Track is now in place. The map below has been modified to reflect this. The track disruptions described below are likely to be in place until May if works progress as expected. Movement along the Tully Boundary Track should remain possible for the duration of the works. 16 Feb 2019 Progress of the pipeline installation has been rapid, with several hundred meters already laid within the Reserve. For users of the Reserve this means the closure of portions of tracks that are part of the pipeline route. There are three main disruptions, described in detail below: Closure of the track from just west of the dam down to where the Boundary Track crosses the creek; closure of a small section of the Valley Track west of the dam; and disruption of access to the dam. Updated information about disruptions to access will be available on this page as soon as fotpin is made aware of them. Closure of a large stretch of track Closure of a small stretch of the Valley Track A more minor inconvenience is the closure of the track to the north of the cross roads where the pipeline does a sharp right bend. The contractors have created a track a few meters wide that skirts around the western side of that closure, shown on the map below as Detour. At the moment it is quite suitable for pedestrians and they intend to keep the grass flattened or cut as necessary so that it remains so. Disruption of access to the dam At the moment, access to the dam from the tracks to the west of it has been disrupted. We are currently seeking further information from the contractors about this and will update this page when there is more information.
03 Feb 2019 Excavation and installation of the pipeline is expected to commence within the Reserve very soon, starting at the bottom and immediately crossing the Tully Boundary Track. Disruption to use of the Boundary track should be minimal, as described below. However the track running north from there towards the dam and then turning right towards the northern Reserve entrances will be severely disrupted. Details of this and an alternative route are also described below. Updated information about any specific disruptions to access will be available on this page as soon as fotpin is made aware of them. For more information and background on the pipeline, see previous updates further down this page. Details of Boundary Track disruption The company carrying out the installation (Woden Contractors) plans to maintain access at all times by implementing small adjustments to the access ways (pedestrians or vehicles on the access road). This will be done by excavating as close to the access way as possible, laying the pipe, and completely backfilling. They will then relocate the access path to pass over the new section of laid/backfilled pipe which will allow us to continue excavation through the original track/trail. They will aim to reopen the original path within a day or two, subject to excavation and weather conditions. Wodens will let fotpin know a day or two before this is about to occur and we will post that information to this page. Details of disruption to the north-south access track It is good that the pipeline follows existing vehicle tracks for much of its route through the Reserve because it confines much of the physical disturbance to already disturbed areas. However it does prevent access to a well-used north-south track. An alternative route is to use the Boundary Track up and over the hill and the next north-south track that leads to/from the crossroads just west of the dam (see map below). There will be the possibility of bypassing the pipeline construction at that point and rejoining the track that leads towards the cavaletti near the car park.
23 January 2018 No doubt some readers will have been watching the slow march of the pipeline up the hill from William Hovell Drive towards the souther boundary of the Reserve (see photo below for progress as at 22nd January). We heard today that preparatory work will start on the Reserve next Wednesday (30th January). This will comprise erection of fencing along the pipeline corridor and around the two storage areas along the route (indicated in yellow on the map below), tree protection measures, erosion sediment controls and tree pruning to allow machinery access. No doubt there will be some minor disruption while this takes place and before the cross-pipeline pedestrian walkways (indicated in green on the map below) are in place. As soon as we know what the likely hours of disruption to those pedestrian walkways will be when the pipeline construction is in progress that information will be added to this web page.
12 December 2018 Work commenced on the William Hovel Drive end of the pipeline last week. The photo below shows what we can expect in terms of disturbance in the fenced-off corridor.
14 November 2018 Preparatory work for the pipeline has commenced at the William Hovell end and the date for erection of the fences along its corridor through the Reserve is getting closer (though no firm date is available yet). We'll provide an update as soon as information is available.
18 August 2018 We have been advised by the pipeline contractors that the erection of the fence along the pipeline corridor though the Reserve is still a few weeks away. They also advised us that the pipeline installation will commence down at William Hovell Drive and work its way up through Bottom Pinnacle to the Reserve. Among other things, this allows them to leave the Reserve corridor unfenced for longer. Themeda (kangaroo grass) Rescue A small group is currently trying to rescue as much Themeda as possible from the pipeline corridor and transplant it to a regeneration area in the Weetangera paddock. This usually takes place on Saturday mornings. If you can spare some time to assist to get as much as possible rescued before the fencing goes up then please contact Len (len@fotpin.org.au) and he will let you know the details each week. Any time you that you can spare to assist will be gratefully appreciated. Establishing a strong colony of Themeda in an area currently dominated by exotic grasses will enhance the natural value of the Reserve. As we control many of the invasive broadleaf species in the Reserve and now that kangaroo numbers have been reduced we are finding Themeda becoming more prevalent and dense, so anything we can do to encourage its spread will be worthwhile.
24 July 2018 Preparation has been underway since mid-2016 for the construction of the pipeline running from the Weetangera water tanks through the Pinnacle Nature Reserve to the new suburb of Whitlam between William Hovell Drive and the Molonglo River. The fotpin Coordinating Committee has been kept informed and consulted throughout the planning stages and has updated members from time to time. The most comprehensive update can be found in fotpin Update #21 [ [ Note that the pipeline has been, and continues to be, referred to by various names: Whitlam Pipeline, Whitlam Water Main, Molonglo Water Main, Molonglo 3 Water Supply Main, etc.] This page will attempt to keep members and Reserve users up to date with developments, especially those that may affect their access to certain parts of the Reserve. If you have any questions or comments from a Reserve users perspective, don't hesitate to email these to us at fotpin@fotpin.org.au. July 2018 Since early July 2018, signs of the construction project have started to appear on the Reserve, with the fencing of some of the construction areas. A notice and map explaining what is happening has been displayed adjacent to the fences; copies are included below.
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