05-04-2022
The following report regarding major construction works in progress or completed, and current maintenance work in progress or recently completed in 2021/22, was provided by then Director of Infrastructure Glenn Lacey at the March Ordinary Meeting of Council.
Weather Forecast
The following project advice is based on manageable weather conditions however, it should be noted that a very wet March and above average rainfall is predicted for April and June which will most likely cause project delays.
Grabine Road Reconstruction
The road reconstruction component of Grabine Road project has been completed. Funder approval for a time extension of the project is being requested to enable causeway upgrade works incorporating large box culverts at Sandy Creek. Due to frequent and substantial water flow at the creek crossing, a dry weather spell is required before these works can commence.
Laggan Road MR248E Rehabilitation
Works to recommence on the Laggan Road towards Crookwell is programmed for late April 2022. The work will commence from the end of the new reconstructed pavement near Laggan Public School towards Crookwell.
Goulburn Road (MR54) – RMCC
Road widening and culvert extensions are currently being carried out near Wayo and are anticipated to be completed by late March. Additional safety guardrail will also be installed. The construction crew will then carry out up to 3 weeks of large heavy patching on the state road both north and south of Crookwell.
Peelwood Road Reconstruction
A further length of Peelwood Road will commence construction in late April. The works will progress northwards from the end of existing seal towards Peelwood.
Wheeo Road Reconstruction
A further length of Wheeo Road will commence construction in early May. The works will progress westwards from the end of existing seal towards Wheeo.
Wombeyan Caves Road MR258
The construction of Wombeyan Caves Road is now completed. Some pavement defects have appeared in recent weeks which will be repaired by the contractor under defects liability provisions.
Collector Road
The extension to the sealed length of Collector Road is still under construction. Completion is programmed for late March.
MR52 Crookwell to Gunning
Urgent and major heavy patching will be carried out in April. Temporary repairs will be required to hold the pavement in a satisfactory condition until major repairs are carried out.
MR256 Taralga to Abercrombie River
Major heavy patching has been carried out in recent months. Due to the age of the road pavement, there will be an ongoing need for further repairs particularly if wet weather conditions persist.
Gurrundah Road (Friars Hill) Upgrade
The upgrade works on Friars Hill is anticipated to commence by late April. The works involve improving the road alignment, additional culverts and culvert extensions, and select lengths of road widening.
Crookwell Aerodrome Access Road
Construction of the access road into the airfield is anticipated to commence by late April. The works include a sealed access road and gravel hardstand areas.
Tablelands Way
Four project locations north of Taralga are currently in design. The highest priority of the locations are Burra Burra Ck near Curraweela (replace causeway with bridge) and the 3km descent down to Abercrombie River.
The design of Burra Burra Ck is nearing completion. A single-span bridge of approximately 18m length will replace the low-level causeway. A road realignment and minor land acquisition is required to incorporate the new bridge and improve the radii of the approaches to the crossing. The construction tender should be called in late April/early May with an anticipated construction start in June.
The 3km descent down to Abercrombie River is the next priority of the packages of work. The design is nearing completion and comprises minor road widening, rock gabion baskets on the inside of two tight curves (embankment support), improve table drains, gravel overlay to improve ride quality and shape, followed by bitumen seal and thin asphaltic concrete surfacing with audio-tactile lane marking (rumble strip lines).
Timber Bridge Replacements
Peelwood Road Bridge over Peelwood Creek was completed in early February. Council is very satisfied with the quality and workmanship delivered by Bridge & Marine P/L which includes a major upgrade to the approach roads which have also been sealed and extensive lengths of safety guardrail.
The timber bridge replacement projects for Julong, Cooksvale and Blue Hill Roads are currently being tendered for construction. It is anticipated that construction could commence in May/June, depending on the number of contractors engaged and crew availability.
An indicative timeframe for the replacement projects is:
1) Tender closes 22 March
2) Recommendation for engaging contractor(s) to Council Ordinary Meeting on April 21
3) Contractor mobilisation/possession of site late May/early June
4) Installation of first InQuik bridge component system by mid-July
It should be noted that there are many bridge replacement projects out to tender following TfNSW instructions to many other regional councils to accelerate their rate of bridge replacement projects.
Resealing and Line Marking
The resealing program has recently commenced having resealed the full length of Orchard St in Taralga, and many kilometres of Peelwood Rd, Fullerton Rd and Jerrawa Rd. Hillas St in Taralga and many urban roads in Crookwell will be resealed in the coming weeks, weather permitting. While there will be disruption to parking during the works it is very fortunate to receive such a large amount of funding to assist Council in improving the overall asset condition and reducing reactive maintenance costs.
Council received $4.3M in grant funding to be spent over the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years. Approximately $3M of the grant is available this financial year.
Line marking RFQ packages are being progressively issued for line marking to be applied within a few weeks of reseals being completed. Intersection line marking will be upgraded on all urban reseals.
Gravel Road Upgrade Program
Scoping of gravel overlay works is in progress with the intention to tender the works in early April so that the works can be carried out in May and June. The program of works includes Reids Flat (Boiler Hill), Golspie Rd, Tyrl Rd, Gorham Rd, 3rd Creek Rd and Pejar Rd. Sections of these roads will also be bitumen sealed to reduce future maintenance e.g. steep terrain, large stormwater runoff locations.
Bitumen sealing of two steep sections of Julong Rd is to be carried out in the coming month. The gravel overlay was completed in December 2021.
Customer Service Requests
A large number of service requests for grading maintenance, pothole repairs, roadside vegetation management and drainage maintenance continue to be received on a daily basis. Due to the large amount of maintenance requests, works are being attended to in a priority order where possible and within budgetary constraints.
Emergency Works
Council continues to suffer considerable damage to the road network following wet weather events. While crews are continually attending to unsealed roads, rehabilitation of large pavement failures is also urgently required. Council is engaging contractors to assist in repairing many roads.
Routine Maintenance – Works in Progress/Completed recently
Current unsealed road maintenance grading and repair program:-
- Decca Rd
- Greenmantle Rd
- Jerrong Rd
- Pejar Rd
- Reids Flat Rd
- Foggs Crossing Rd
- Dawsons Ck Rd
- Church Rd
- Redground Rd
- Redground Heights Rd
- Diamond Rd
- Wombeyan Caves Rd
- Kildare Lane
- Holloways Rd
- Chapmans Rd
- Fish River Rd
- Rhyanna Rd
- Lost River Rd
- Hillcrest Rd
- Woodville Rd
- Grabine Rd