Work is beginning to build a 75-metre pipe bridge across Boambee Creek that will carry sewer and reclaimed water pipelines between a new pump station at Sawtell and the Coffs Harbour Water Reclamation Plant.
“This is another of the key parts of the city’s $250m Sewerage Strategy, which Council has been working on since 1997,” said Steve McGrath, Council’s General Manager. “It has been a very long-term strategy, but it has resulted in Coffs Harbour having world-class sewerage infrastructure that is the envy of regional Australia.”
Once completed, the pipelines will link a new state-of-the-art sewer pump station at Sawtell to the Coffs Harbour Water Reclamation Plant – and enable the decommissioning of the obsolete Sawtell Sewage Treatment Plant, as well as the closure of the shoreline discharge at Boambee Headland.
The pipe bridge that will carry the pipelines will be built across the piers of the rail bridge over the creek at Boambee Creek Park Reserve. The new $1m bridge will be constructed on the western side of the railway line.
The pipe bridge components are being built in sections off-site by H.F. Hand Constructors P/L. A 400-tonne crane will be used to place them into position.
Before the crane can be brought to the site, the bridge sections will have to be assembled adjacent to the rail bridge. The completed bridge sections – up to 25 metres long – will then be lifted into place. Assembly and access works are scheduled to begin on site on Wednesday, June 12.
“This is a very complex project due to the constraints on the site itself. We’re dealing with a working rail bridge, a waterway, a small reserve area and high voltage electricity cables across the creek. This means that, during construction, we will have to close the pathway under the bridge,” said Ben Lawson, Council’s Director of City Services. “People can still access and use the pedestrian bridge over the creek from the eastern side of the rail bridge, but they won’t be able to reach it from the western side. However, construction is due to be completed by mid-July when the path will be reopened and we do apologise for any inconvenience these works may cause in the meantime.”
Coffs Harbour’s Sewerage Strategy involves upgrading and expanding our sewerage system to ensure residents have quality sewerage services into the future. The $96m Coffs Harbour Water Reclamation Plant was opened in 2009. Prior to that, in 2004, the Woolgoolga Water Reclamation Plant was upgraded.
