WORKS to the Gunnedah Memorial Pool renewal project have entered the halfway stage as the future 50-metre pool begins to take shape.
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Currently, additional excavation works surrounding the site of the future indoor 25-metre pool are under way and expected to be complete within the coming weeks.
Gunnedah Shire Council special projects manager Mike Silver told The Namoi Valley Independent construction of the new pool was slightly ahead of schedule.
“At this stage we are very pleased with the progress of the project,” Mr Silver said.
“The pool aspect of the project is slightly ahead of schedule which is a good outcome.
“We are also just starting to catch up on some of the losses associated with the work on the pavilion, we expect that stabilistion work to the basement of the pavilion will probably start in the next week or so.
“Probably by mid-May we will know where we are up to as far as the pavilion is concerned.
“Hopefully by the end of May we will have the concrete floor slabs down for the main pavilion.”
Mr Silver said despite recent challenges around the new pavilion, the project is still expected to be completed on schedule.
“The builder hasn’t to this point changed the program," he said.
“There might be some modifications to the program in the course of the next week or so but at this stage we are still on schedule for an October completion and be in a position to use the facility during the summer season.”
The project manager said contractors had faced “a few” challenges during the course of the project so far.
“I guess the main challenge has been working with what has basically been revealed in the demolition of the main pavilion,” he said.
“It has highlighted a few concerns we have had to deal with particularly in the basement area and they have at times been quite challenging.
“We are currently working to overcome those challenges and we will see some stabilisation work to ensure we don’t see any movement in that structure in the future.”
As well as challenges, Mr Silver said there had been several successes during the project to this point.
“The geo-technical reporting we had in regards to the rock, has been very accurate,” he said.
“We have nominated what the profile of the rock that needs to be excavated from some areas is and in some cases the rock has been very-very hard which has been a challenge.
“But the contractors have done a terrific job in identifying that and working on removing that rock and that is why we are seeing a great deal of excavation work on the future 25-metre pool being done at the moment.”
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Mr Silver said the community will see the new facility begin to take shape in the coming weeks.
“In the course of the next five-to-six weeks we will see the walls of the new 50-metre pool be completed,” he said.
“Currently they are working on installation of the coping and wash-gutters, that will be completed in the coming weeks, we are anticipating some time during May.
“People will be able to see what the pool is like from there.”
The $11.4 million project is expected to be complete ahead of the 2018-19 summer season.