When Fleetwood was awarded the $3.7 million tender to develop Stage 2B, the final stage of the trail (which will run adjacent to the Cromer Golf Club and the Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation) our whole team was excited. Now, the project is well under way, and the vision for the community is becoming a reality.This award continues Fleetwood’s association with the project and follows the successful completion of Stage 1 in 2011. Stage 1 involved the 850 metre trail construction (including marine piling, elevated boardwalks, viewing pods and landscaping). We were delighted when the $2.2 million project was awarded the 2011 Minister for Planning & Infrastructure – Sydney Greenspace Award.
When Stage 2B of the Narrabeen Lagoon Multi-Use Trail is completed mid to late 2014, nature lovers, walkers and cyclists will be able to circumnavigate the spectacular Narrabeen Lagoon for the first time. The body of water is the largest lagoon on the northern beaches and one of its most beautiful natural assets. The trail will make it fully accessible.
Any major project takes a team of very skilled people. The multi-use trail includes two iconic bridges that were the concept of Thompson Berrill Landscape Design (TBLD). Our own multi-skilled design team ensured that those concepts were faithfully implemented. We are completing all excavation and piling works, concrete paths, approach boardwalk ramps, culverts, sandstone block walls, open space & estuarine aquatic planting, revegetation and associated trail works.
This project is a perfect example of the DesignExecute™ approach – we are working collaboratively with Council and TBLD on this iconic project to ensure the best aesthetical design outcomes are achieved. This approach also means we are able to provide one point of contact throughout the project from concept to completion and ensure that a valid, cost effective design is implemented.
Fleetwood’s Project Manager, David Meechan, says: “DesignExecute™ is very important for projects, particularly this one. Our Technical, Operations and Construction teams look at the project and the potential challenges and iron them out in design phase before we begin, to ensure that we streamline the process to deliver an awesome finished project.
“This project will provide a valuable community asset that will make a beautiful, natural area more accessible and will ensure that families will be able to enjoy their surroundings without negatively impacting on the sensitive zone near the lake.”
As with all our community projects, we are working to protect the environment. We will install the Middle Creek and South Creek bridges without disturbing the natural creek line and will use cranes to eliminate the need for barging in the riparian zone – that is the sensitive zone closest to the water and on the banks of the creeks. This reduces the risk of oil spills, which in turn keeps the marine life safe.
“The environment is a significant part of the project,” Meechan says. “I’ve never seen so many kookaburras in one spot. A good number of snakes and lizards have been sighted and we’ve staged construction to ensure that the endangered Australasian Bittern (Botaurus Poiciloptilus) is able to nest in peace.
“Working in such a sensitive ecological area has meant we’ve taken extra care with the construction of the bridges. We have finalised the design of the truss bridges for both locations and will install them in 1 lift. That is a considerable achievement bearing in mind that one of the bridges is over 52m in clear span length.
“We’ve been able to use the site at the Golf Course and at the Sports Academy to undertake the construction so that we disturb the area around the lagoon and the two creeks as little as possible.
"What I love most about this project is, quite simply, the superb environment," says Meechan. "The location is just amazing."
As Stage 2B has received plenty of interest in the community, we will post news and photos regularly to keep you updated on the status of this exciting project.
If you have a complex infrastructure project, and you need to partner with an experienced Design and Construct team, please call us on 1300 989 100.
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