Back Creek Road
- Project typeRoad sealing and Bridge replacement
- Project value$2,996,875 Joint funded by the NSW Government under the Fixing Country Roads program and Yass Valley Council.
- Project schedule2022 - 2023
- Contractor nameLentro Earthworks
Project updates & community information
October 2023
Back Creek Road Bridge Replacement:
Murray Constructions were on site in October to complete the first round of piling works for the bridge. They are currently working off site to cast the large components that will be transported to site. they will return early 2023 (late January, early February). Construction crew will remain on site until completion which is planned to be towards the end of April 2024.
Back Creek Road upgrade Stage 2
Council has received good news regarding the ecological survey and are now working to finalise the detailed design. This need for additional information has delayed the progress and at this stage, there will not be a contractor appointed the February Council meeting.
September 2023
Murray Constructions will be briefly mobilising to site mid-October to undertake some of the piling works for the Murray Creek Road bridge replacement, as there are different piling methods being used these will be completed at different times. Murrays will then not be back to site until early 2024 (late Jan, early Feb), this will then see them remain on site until completion which is planned to be toward the end of April 2024. During the time absent from the site, all the precasting works will be undertaken so essentially all the bridge components are being made and will be transported to site to be constructed. Once the team return early next year the bridge construction itself will occur quite quickly.
The second stage of Murray Creek Road upgrades are currently in the detailed design phase and additional information is now required. We have engaged OzArk to undertake an ecological survey, this will be happening mid-October. The OzArk team are surveying for specific species of flora and fauna and will be placing ribbons on certain trees for Council use. This need for additional information has delayed our progress and at this stage there will not be a contractor appointed until the February Council meeting.
August 2023
The final segment of road is to be sealed this week, the team will then undertake tidy up works, some revegetation etc and leave the site in the next couple of weeks!
The second stage of road upgrades are currently in the design phase. We are hoping the design will be prepared in the next couple of months to enable us to go to tender prior to Christmas. Works would then commence early in 2024!
Council have awarded the bridge replacement contract to Murray Constructions – this company has worked with Council before and deliver excellent work - we are looking forward to working with them again. At present we are working through the required paperwork and the team at Murrays are commencing the precast works. For this bridge design, the major concrete components are made off site and transported here, works on the ground will not be in full swing for a little while yet – but rest assured they are well underway!
July 2023
Works are progressing well and over 3kms of the road is now sealed! Additional earthworks to assist in the completion of the upcoming bridge replacement are also well underway. Works are scheduled to be completed in September, weather dependent.
The tender evaluation report for the bridge was sent to Council at the July Council meeting with a recommendation to appoint a contractor. We are hoping to commence works in October – more to follow!
All preliminary works are now completed for sealing stage 2, and the detailed design is underway! We are planning to tender for this work toward the end of the year.
June 2023
Works are progressing well with part of the new road now sealed. The planned scope of works has now been extended to include additional earthworks to assist in the completion of the upcoming bridge replacement. This will push the completion date out to approximately September, however, will result in far less disruption to our residents during the bridge replacement. Council have also been successful in receiving grant funding under round 4 of the Fixing Local Roads Grant programs to seal the last 4.34kms of Back Creek Road – preliminary works including survey, geotechnical investigation and environmental reporting are underway.
May 2023
Works are progressing well; the majority of the road is stabilised and gravel carting is well underway. Sealing is booked in for the first section of road toward the end of the month, weather permitting. Works are now expected to be completed by the end of June, due to the rain events of late. Council have been successful in receiving grant funding under round 4 of the Fixing Local Roads Grant programs to seal the last 4.34kms of Back Creek Road – preliminary works including survey, geotechnical investigation and environmental reporting are underway.
April 2023
The road is now taking shape. The bulk earthworks and pavement stabilisation are progressing well as are the drainage works. We are still on track to have the works completed early June (weather dependent).
We are also working hard in the background on the replacement of the bridge, after a slight delay with the hydrology we are currently finalising the detailed design. Once this is completed, we will be going to tender and aiming to meet the July Council meeting for approval, meaning the works will likely commence shortly thereafter.
You may also be aware we were successful in a recent grant application to seal the remaining 4.34km of Back Creek Road – Council accepted this grant at the February Council meeting. We have begun engaging contractors to undertake preliminary works such as survey, environmental reporting and geotechnical investigations in the field.
March 2023
The bulk earthworks are underway for first 1.8kms, as well as drainage works along the remainder of the site. We are still on track to have the works completed by the first week of June (weather dependent).
We are also working on the replacement of the bridge. We are currently finalising the hydrological studies and the detailed design, once this is completed, we will be going to tender. We are aiming to meet the June Council meeting for approval, meaning the works will likely commence in July 2023.
Council were successful in a recent grant application to seal the remaining 4.34km of Back Creek Road – Council accepted this grant at the February Council meeting. We are commencing with some internal works and will soon be engaging contractors to undertake preliminary works such as survey and geotechnical investigations in the field.
February 2023
Clearing and grubbing works commenced in November and are commencing well, bulk earthworks will begin in the next two weeks
October 2022
Back Creek Road Upgrade – Stage 1
Local contractor – Lentro Earthworks was approved by Council to undertake Stage 1 of this project
Council will meet with Lentro in the next week or so and set a date for the works to commence, hopefully this will be in the next few weeks. At this stage works are still expected to be completed by the end of May 2023 – this is of course weather dependant.
Back Creek Bridge update
We are struggling to get the required survey data due to the wet weather however are still progressing well. Design work will commence as soon as possible, with a goal to tender around April 2023, commencing onsite mid-2023.
September 2022
The trees have now been removed, the remaining stumps will be removed and ground down on site with the mulch being used for revegetation throughout the work site.
Council has a request for tender out now which closes on Friday. Once we receive these tenders, we will assess them and prepare a report with a recommendation to send to the October Council meeting.
We are planning to start asap once the recommendation has been approved – we put this as mid-November on the ground. Works are expected to be completed by the end of May 2023 – this is of course weather dependant.
Council has been successful in securing funding from Bridge Renewal to replace the bridge. We have been working behind the scenes to get the survey and other preliminary data collected so we can commence on the detailed design. Although this is in the early stages, we are planning to have the design completed around March 2023, then we will go through the tender process and hope to start construction in line with the completion of the road upgrade.
August 2022
Tree removal work has been completed on Back Creek Road for stage one of the sealing works. Finalisation of the environmental report and the detailed design is now underway with tenders to be called in the next couple of months.
June 2022
We have been working hard behind the scenes getting ready for the works on the ground – we have undertaken survey, environmental and aboriginal heritage investigations, geotechnical investigation and are in the process of finalising the detailed design.
The current plan is to commence Stage 1 in the next week or so – Stage 1 will be tree clearing which will involve the removal of around 750 trees. The trees identified are the absolute minimum amount we need to remove to enable improvements to the standard of road safety, they have been assessed and are not considered habitat trees or protected species.
Stage 2 of the works will include 5kms of road construction and sealing. Once the detailed design is finalised Council will call tenders – when a contractor is appointed, we can advise a program of works going forward.
Location
Back Creek Road, Gundaroo, Suburb 1 2620 View Map