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INTRODUCING  commercial opportunities to national park design – while still keeping sustainable outcomes – has drawn innovative changes to the Walkabout Creek Visitor Centre at Brisbane suburb The Gap. The centre is located within the popular D’Aguilar National Park.

The moves are part of the Queensland Government’s Gateway Visitor Centre Master Plan that aims to encourage ecotourism through a $3.6 million investment in the three parks — David Fleay’s Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast, Walkabout Creek Visitor Centre near Brisbane, and Mon Repos Turtle Centre near Bundaberg. 

Lat27, the master planners for the redevelopment of two of these Gateway Visitor Centres — the Walkabout Creek Visitor Centre and the Mon Repos Turtle Centre – have been working with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service to deliver what State Member of the area, Kate Jones has called “exciting new concepts that will make the parks more attractive to tourists, encourage active lifestyles and ensure the long-term environmental and commercial sustainability of the centres”.

The Lat27 master planning team was tasked with exploring viable commercial opportunities at Walkabout Creek to increase visitation and greater exploration of the D’Aguilar National Park. The resulting vision was founded on sound business modelling and extensive research into compatible activity providers, according to Lat27 urban design director and project leader, John Ilett.

Mr Ilett said the new approach carefully balances environmental requirements with sustainable user engagement and, where feasible, potential commercial partnerships into the future.

“Our role was to work with the Long View Group Consortium team, QPWS (Queenland Parks and Wildlife Service) and other key stakeholders to create new facilities and activities that will provide a more engaging and accessible space for visitors, whilst ensuring our unique natural environments are maintained and protected.

“Our pilot project, the swimming beach and canoe launch at the Enoggera Reservoir, has been very positively received by the community and these facilities have been used every day since they opened in mid-December 2014,” he said.

“This is just the response we were looking for — we wanted to attract and engage both locals and tourists alike and  provide spaces where visitors of all ages can get active and enjoy our natural environment in a fun and interactive way — a taste for further exploration of D’Aguillar National Park.

“Lat27 is currently working on designs for an Activity Centre which will include an events lawn, activity trails and nature play nodes throughout the park. Future initiatives will include a Junior Mountain Bike Skills Park and potentially a Zip Line course.

“All of the initiatives, when implemented, will transform Walkabout Creek Visitor Centre and capitalise on one of our key local natural assets.  It will be a much-loved activity space and one of Brisbane’s ‘must do’ destinations for generations to come,” Mr Ilett said.

State Member for Ashgrove, Kate Jones, said, “The new canoe launch site and swimming area at Enoggera Reservoir are proving very popular with the local community and are helping to boost visitation to the Frog Tree Café and wildlife displays at the Walkabout Creek Wildlife Centre.”

Mr Ilett said Lat27’s work on the Mon Repos Turtle Centre near Bundaberg would also encourage greater visitation and enhance community involvement within this critical research and educational facility at the edge of the renowned World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef.

“There are some very interesting challenges in designing outdoor activity spaces in areas of such environmental significance, but it is extremely rewarding work, particularly when you see such a positive public response,” he said.

www.npsr.qld.gov.au

For copies of the master plans go to http://nprsr.qld.gov.au/managing/plans-strategies/gateway-visitor-centre-master-plans.html

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ENDS

TUNNELLING has started in Sydney on the first major flood prevention project since torrential rains devastated parts of Sydney and the Hunter Valley in April. The work will flood proof the Green Square Town Centre, the first new town centre built in central Sydney for more than a century.

A 2.4km-long underground drain, big enough to empty 300 bathtubs a second, is designed to dissipate flash floodwaters, like those that trapped drivers just 4km from Sydney Town Hall. 

Two months after rescuers in Zetland waded through chest deep waters to pull people from submerged vehicles, the City of Sydney and Sydney Water has started tunnelling on the biggest drain built in the city for decades.

Underground tunnelling machines will excavate the drain that will carry up to 30,000 litres of stormwater per second to Alexandra Canal.

The tunnel will take floodwaters away from Green Square – one of the fastest growing residential areas in NSW – and allow safe construction of the Green Square Town Centre.

Green Square Town Centre is located on what is known as the Waterloo Swamp flood plain between the city and Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport, where heavy rain can cause hazardous flooding sometimes more than 2m deep.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City had worked closely with Sydney Water on this vital project to transform Green Square, making it even more attractive to developers.

“The torrential storms in April were a graphic reminder of how vital this trunk drain is to make this area a great place for thousands of people to live and work safely,” Lord Mayor Moore said.

“This area was once Sydney’s industrial heartland, but now a lot of the industry has left and new jobs and residents are moving in and making this our fastest growing village,” Ms Moore said.

“At a cost of more than $90 million, this project is a key component of the City’s $440 million transformation plan for new infrastructure and community facilities to ensure the Green Square neighbourhood is a great place to live, work and enjoy.”

Developers building the Green Square Town Centre praised the City and Sydney Water for constructing the drain they said would transform one of the fastest growing residential areas in the state.

Ms Moore said tunnelling machines are traditionally given a woman’s name and the Green Square machine has been named ‘Mary Veronica’ in recognition of Mary Veronica Neilson. Mrs Neilson was the area’s first female alderman (1945–1948) and first female Mayor (1946 and 1947) when she served on Waterloo Municipal Council.

Mrs Nelson’s granddaughter, Janine Loyzaga, said her grandmother had worked hard to improve the community and would have been honoured to be part of this project.

“Mary Veronica was a woman of strong views and strong opinions, and a leader in community service in a time when it was still unusual for a woman to be any of those things. She would have been proud and appreciative to have her contributions to her community recognised,” Mrs Loyzaga said.

The tunnelling machine was be lowered into concrete-lined launch pits in late June, from where it began working below the water table, digging through Botany sands.

Controlled by computers above ground, the micro tunnelling machine will travel about 12-15m a day digging a hole 2.15m in diameter which is lined with concrete pipes.

Up to three micro tunnelling machines will be used together and in some areas three tunnels will be placed side by side to cope with huge volumes of water. Tunnelling is due to finish by the end of 2017.

To minimise disruption to traffic and the community, the tunnelling machines will work well below the surface avoiding the need to dig-up roads as is often required when laying stormwater pipes.

The stormwater drain will significantly reduce flooding in and around the Green Square area and particularly at Joynton Avenue and on Botany Rd, Zetland.

Much of the route from Link Rd to Alexandra Canal runs through or under property owned by the City. The route was chosen to minimise the impact on residents, businesses and the environment.

The Green Square Stormwater Drain Project is being delivered by the DG Alliance, a team consisting of Sydney Water, the City of Sydney, UGL Engineering, Seymour Whyte Constructions, Parsons Brinckerhoff Australia and RPS Manidis Roberts.

www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au

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BMD URBAN has been awarded early the contract for civil construction works on 144 new lots at Providence in Ripley Valley, South East Queensland, because of a surge in demand.

Providence is now one of the fastest selling developments in the country and the contract value of almost $5 million includes regional trunk infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer mains.

BMD was awarded the tender by Providence developer Amex Corporation, bringing through the largest residential community being developed in the fast growing Ripley Valley near Ipswich.

Providence project director Michael Khan said construction was ahead of schedule because of much higher than expected consumer demand. 

“Over the first six months of sales we’ve been selling more than one block of land every day to a mixture of first home buyers, empty nesters, investors and builders who can see the value of buying early into Providence,” Mr Khan said.

Civil works construction on the first three stages are nearing completion. The bulk earthworks on stages 4-6 are also finished.  This brings the total to 338 lots at varying stages of construction at present.

Mr Khan said civil works on stages 4-6 would include sewerage, stormwater, water mains and roadworks across three new stages for more residents to begin building later this year.  In addition to these works, there will also be services such as electricity, NBN fibre to the home, natural gas and landscaping.

Construction on Providence is several months ahead of schedule, and is quickly transforming the former grazing land into a new master-planned community, which will eventually house up to 20,000 people.

Providence is the largest single development within Ripley Valley. The 670-hectare master-planned community will be developed over the next 20 years and include two future primary and two secondary schools, a health and wellbeing precinct and 200 hectares of retained bushland and landscaped open space.

Over the next 25 years, the entire Ripley Valley is projected to accommodate 10 percent of South East Queensland’s population growth, with a projected population of 120,000 people and significant employment opportunities for the western corridor.

WATER PARK IN PLAY

Amex Corporation lifted the appeal of the development with last month’s surprise announcement of a new water play park for the Ripley Valley region at Providence. It is scheduled to be open to the public for next summer.

Ripley Valley’s first water play park will feature a dedicated toddler water playground, an older children’s zone, and space for adults. Combined with the adjoining Adventure Play area, the new destination will be known as Providence Splash n Play.

“We’ve designed the Splash n Play water play park with fun-loving families in mind,” Mr Khan said.

“There’s the toddler area with ‘wiggly’ sprayers that little tots can control, and the bigger kids zone with 4m-high water features that shoot water down to the ground. There’s even ‘day beds’ where mums and dads can relax on the large seating platforms watching their children play.

“As the largest development within Ripley Valley, Providence is creating hectares of active recreational spaces for the community,” he said. 

““The Splash n Play water play park, the neighbouring Adventure Park and bikeways will cement Providence’s position as the community heartland for families living in the Ripley Valley.”

About 80 percent of the Splash n Play water play area is to becovered in shade structures, making it a sunsafe place to enjoy the summer, Mr Khan said. “As well as shade structures, the park is dotted with palm trees, creating a cool oasis on hot summer days.”

Commencing near the District Park that has the Splash n Play area and the Adventure Play, there will be a network of bicycle paths criss-crossing the development, enabling residents to make their way to this destination without having to drive the car.

Splash n Play forms part of the 200 hectares of retained bushland and landscaped open space at Providence, which will eventually be home for up to 20,000 people.

Amex Corporation is an Australian family-owned residential development company that has been operating in Queensland for 25 years, and has delivered 14 communities across Australia.

www.providenceripley.com.au

www.amexcorp.com.au

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EXTRA >> THE Federal Government is well down the track on what it calls the biggest infrastructure drive in the nation’s history.

It is certainly a record in terms of money being spent: $50 billion worth of projects have already been announced, dominated by improvements to Australia’s road networks including projects that have been discussed for generations, such as an alternative Toowoomba range crossing. 

“Our record $50 billion infrastructure investment has seen work start on 22 major new projects (in 2014) and another 47 in 2015, most of which either languished under Labor or simply were not on their radar,” Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Warren Truss said. He announced the program in December with Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

“In Queensland, our $6.7 billion commitment to fix the Bruce Highway, including 47 new projects to make it safer and less flood-prone, is well underway. This year construction started on raising the Bruce across the Yeppen Floodplain south of Rockhampton, as well as large sections of works between Cooroy and Curra.”

Mr Truss said early works had started on the last stage of the Townsville Ring Road.

“We have expanded construction to duplicate the road and include grade separated interchanges. The Australian Government will complete this project, which has been allowed to stretch out for a decade.

“In every corner of Australia we are building a better, more productive future. In Cape York we have started construction on a $260 million package of works, including projects that will keep roads open for longer during the wet season,” he said.

“There is $930 million to continue the Gateway Motorway North upgrade in Brisbane and up to $1.285 billion for the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing, expected to support 1,800 jobs during construction.”

FUNDING RE-BALANCE

“The Australian Government has re-introduced the traditional 80:20 funding split for new road and rail projects on the national network outside of metropolitan areas. Under Labor these networks would have been abandoned,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.

“In NSW this means our $5.64 billion will see the Pacific Highway finally duplicated by the end of this decade. Australia's largest regional road project is now in full swing, with three consortia shortlisted to oversee construction of the final 155km Woolgoolga to Ballina section in 2015.

“Our partnership with the NSW Government in Western Sydney ends half-a-century of dithering to lock-in the site for a new Western Sydney airport and we have committed $3.6 billion for the Western Sydney Infrastructure Plan to create new local jobs and slash travel times for motorists.”

Mr Abbott said the $1.5 billion investment in WestConnex, would cut 40 minutes on travel between Parramatta and Kingsford Smith Airport. The government is also providing a concessional loan of up to $2 billion to fast-track WestConnex Stage 2, bringing it forward by up to 18 months.

“WestConnex will create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction,” Mr Abbott said. “Our joint $810 million contribution with the NSW Government to build the $3 billion NorthConnex project will also create thousands of jobs, allow motorists to bypass 21 sets of traffic lights and save up to 15 mins travel time.”

In Victoria, the Federal Government has committed $3 billion to build the East-West Link which is expected to create almost 7,000 jobs during construction and would slash travel times between the Eastern Freeway and CityLink to seven minutes and bypass 23 sets of traffic lights.

“It would be extremely disappointing for Victoria if the new Labor Government tries to cancel the East-West contract which could potentially damage Australia's reputation as a secure market for international investment,” Mr Abbott said.

“We are also fixing one of the world;s most scenic coastal drives, the Great Ocean Road, which has deteriorated due to the effects of age, heavy rainfall, salt corrosion and increasing tourist traffic. The first stages of our $25 million package of works kicked off in August.

“In November we invested $70 million of new funding to the Princes Highway East and a further $97.3 million to the Western Highway to further duplicate these nationally significant highways.”

In South Australia, the Federal Government is spending almost $1 billion to upgrade the North-South corridor. Planning commenced last year and construction will start in 2015 on both the Darlington and Torrens-to-Torrens projects.

Mr Abbot also said the $400 million commitment to Tasmania’s Midland Highway is now a key part of the  Federal Government’s Economic Action Strategy, and there were seven projects, totalling $20 million, starting construction by end-January 2015.

Mr Truss said, “In Western Australia, our $676 million investment will finish the Gateway WA Project in Perth and we are getting on with delivering NorthLink WA on the Perth to Darwin Highway which we committed $615 million towards.”

Construction started in 2014 on the $307.8 million Great Northern Highway (Muchea to Wubin) and the $174 million North West Coastal Highway (Minilya to Barradale), with the $140.6 million Tonkin Highway upgrade now also in the planning stages.

“We are also delivering more for less through new innovative financing with a heavy vehicle road user charge being introduced in WA for the first time to help build the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link, which will enable this vital project to go out to tender in 2015,” Mr Truss said.

REGIONAL DRIVE

In the Northern Territory, the Federal road program has completed the first section of the $103 million Tiger Brennan Drive duplication, with works on the next section between Woolner and Berrimah Roads ready to proceed.

“Construction began in November on the first two projects in the $90 million Regional Roads Productivity Package,” Mr Truss said, “which upgrades six regional and remote roads in the Territory that are key to continuing export growth from the resource and primary industry sectors.

“In addition, we have committed $2.1 billion for local roads under the Roads to Recovery Programme – including an extra $350 million more to provide double the funding in 2015–16. Another $500 million for Black Spots, crucial to fixing dangerous and accident-prone sections of local roads and streets, and $229 million for a new national highway upgrade program.

“Our additional funding of $200 million for heavy vehicle safety has received 150 proposals and our new $300 million Bridges Renewal program, to repair and replace local bridges, has attracted more than 270 project proposals.

“While in government for just over a year, we are delivering on an infrastructure agenda to set Australia on the road to prosperity for generations to come,” Mr Truss said.

2014–2015 New Major Projects