Work Delayed on Bells and Carol’s Wharves

NBC Council have sent the following advice. Note: this is an NBC notification: SIRA is providing it for informational purposes only.

Construction work in Catherine Park: Information for residents from Ausgrid

Note: Although the letter below states that weekend work is scheduled, SIRA’s President Colin Haskell has negotiated with Ausgrid and achieved a commitment that the Sunday work would be cancelled. Ausgrid has also agreed that Saturday work will be reduced to the minimum. These commitments were made in recognition of the fact that the park is heavily used by the island community on weekends.

27 October 2021

West Pittwater Energy Reliability Project Construction work in Catherine Park

As you are aware, Ausgrid is planning to improve the reliability of the local power supply to West Pittwater (McCarrs Creek, Elvina Bay, Lovett Bay and Morning Bay), following extended power outages to the area in previous years.

Ultegra (with specialist contractors) is doing this work on behalf of Ausgrid. The work involves drilling two boreholes, one from Lovett Bay and one from Catherine Park into Pittwater, installing a High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) pipe inside these boreholes, and then pulling a cable through the boreholes and between Lovett Bay and Catherine Park.

Drilling work in Lovett Bay started in early October and will be completed this week. The drilling rig will then be moved to Catherine Park, Scotland Island.

Work in Catherine Park

The work in Catherine Park involves using a directional drilling machine to bore a hole in rock, approximately 220 metres long, from Catherine Park into Pittwater. Please see map overleaf for location of work.

The project team are expected to start setting up the site compound and preparing the area for the drilling rig from Monday 1 November 2021.

The drilling rig and associated equipment are expected to be delivered to site during that week. During this work, you may notice more workers in the area.

The project team will then set up the drilling rig within our compound and additional noise reduction blankets will be installed around the equipment and on the compound fencing.

The drilling will then start from Monday 8 November 2021. We expect to complete the drilling in four weeks, weather and ground conditions permitting. We will notify you if this program changes.

Work hours

With statewide changes to construction working hours due to Covid-19, we are proposing to extend our usual working hours on site.

We are proposing to work:

• ·         Monday to Friday 6am to 6.30pm – with drilling work between 7am and 6pm
• ·         Saturday 7.30am to 5.30pm – with drilling work between 8am and 5pm
• ·         Sunday 7.30am to 5.30pm – with drilling work between 8am and 5pm

Please note: outside the abovementioned drilling hours, you will notice the project team on site, preparing for the work and carrying out maintenance work on the equipment. These extended hours will allow us to complete the drilling works in a timely fashion. We will continue to monitor noise levels and will shorten drilling hours, if required or if

the statewide changes to construction working hours change.

What to expect during our work

Work will be noisy at times, and there will be an increase in vehicle movements. We will minimise the impacts to you by:

• ·         installing noise blankets around excavations and equipment
• ·         directing lighting away from residential properties, and
• ·         carrying out regular inspections to ensure minimal impact to surrounding residents.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this work may cause.

Access to Catherine Park

Pedestrian access through Catherine Park will be maintained throughout the work.

Installing the cable

We will then need to install the new cable and connect it into the network. The final restoration of the area will be carried out in consultation with Northern Beaches Council

Keeping you informed

Ausgrid will issue email notification updates detailing work locations and dates. Residents can register for these updates to be emailed to them at majorprojects@ausgrid.com.au.

For enquiries related to construction, please contact Ultegra on 0409 736 064 or at enquiries@ultegra.com.au.

For information related to the project visit our website at www.ausgrid.com.au/West- Pittwater-reliability-project. Alternatively, you can contact Ausgrid on 1800 604 765 or majorprojects@ausgrid.com.au.

We apologise for any inconvenience this work may cause you and thank you for your continued patience.

Yours sincerely,

Matt Irla

Project Development Manager