Council Works – Week ending 17 May 2019

 “For the week ending 17 May, the following key works were completed by Council staff”, noted Council’s Mayor, Cr. Ray Thompson.

“Within the urban Lithgow area last week, Council staff continued working towards the completion of major stormwater improvements throughout Lithgow and Marrangaroo,” said Mayor Thompson. With much of the sensitive works completed across the fairway, works within the Golf Club are steadily progressing. A detour road is currently in place to maintain access while the pipes are upgraded. Mayor Thompson also noted that additional works will commence shortly on the completion of the clearing of stormwater drainage underneath Conran Oval. “This is expected to reduce the effects of Laurence Street / Main Street flooding in the short term while designs for the upgrade of this infrastructure are completed,” said Mayor Thompson.

In the last week Council’s rural works staff have also been focusing on the maintenance of unsealed roads. Last week staff completed the gravel resheet of Hearne Street, Capertee and have moved to commence grading the remaining streets of the Capertee township. Wolgan Road, Wolgan Valley grading is also ongoing and stands at 50% complete with drainage improvements continuing in this area. Third, Marsden Swamp Road is also being maintained. “Alongside this maintenance,” said Mayor Thompson, “I am pleased to note staffing issues have been resolved on the roadside mower and as such, Coxs River Road, Blackheath Creek Road, Kanimbla Drive, Megalong Place and Lowther Siding Road have been slashed.”

“Lastly, works are ongoing throughout the Lithgow LGA to complete the remaining projects within the adopted Operational Plan for 2018/19,” said Mayor Thompson. “One kilometer of new concrete footpath is currently being installed on Wolgan Road in Lidsdale and is scheduled for completion within 2 – 3 weeks. The resealing of Forty Bends Road is complete and represents an improvement from condition rating 4 (poor) to condition rating 1 (excellent). Similar improvements are being effected on Palmers Oakey Road, which stands as road in worst condition in the Lithgow LGA. It is expected that once complete, this road will also present as condition rating 1.

“By targeting these particular assets that are assessed by engineers to be in a poor condition, Council is working towards reducing asset renewal backlogs and improving the combined standard of all road assets throughout the region,” noted Mayor Thompson. “While improvements are ongoing, Council’s budgets are required to be spread across a great number of essential services. For this reason, asset renewals are incremental and must be prioritized to ensure Council’s ongoing objective of continuing to reduce the backlog of works over time is successful.”