CONSTRUCTION work on the Gunnedah Police Station upgrade is currently running behind schedule due to a combination of factors, including a shortage of tradesmen.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Started in October 2017, the project was intended to be in two halves, with the first stage originally set to be completed in the coming weeks.
Patterson Group site foreman Bob Mudie told The Namoi Valley Independent the project had encountered some minor delays in recent weeks.
“The initial completion date of the first half of the project was intended to be about late May to early June,” Mr Mudie said.
“So at the minute it is a few weeks behind and that sometimes happens, you just can’t get trades sometimes and there can be some unforeseen circumstances that impact on the timeframe.
“Realistically, we are probably looking at having the first stage of the project completed by roughly the third week of June at this stage.
“It is the home stretch of the first half of the project and from here I don’t foresee there to be too many issues.”
See Also:
Mr Mudie said brickworks had taken marginally longer than expected.
“The local tradesmen have been fantastic,” he said.
“They have done a terrific job, but it has taken a little longer than expected and that does come down to a lack of labour.
“It’s just been a case of, for example, needing six guys to a job but only having two or three available.
“It’s just one of those things, all the trades have been good, the local guys have done an outstanding job.”
The site foreman said construction crews were preparing to lay the sites driveways in the coming days.
“We are currently getting ready for the driveways as we speak,” he said.
“They should be getting poured later this week, or early next week.
“I think that should have the place looking pretty good.
“We are currently up-to-date with the electrical wiring in the interior of the site, with guys currently fitting the lights at the moment.”
Following the completion of the first stage of the project, demolition of the existing Gunnedah Police Station will commence with officers moving into the new facility.
“As soon as everyone has moved over here we will start by removing the asbestos from the current facility,” Mr Mudie said.
“Once that’s out, a big excavator will come in and more-or-less will just pull it down.”
Mr Mudie said he was confident the project would be complete later in the year.
“I’ve got a couple of things up my sleeve that might help us catch a bit of time up,” he said.
“I’d say we should have the entire project complete by November, and I’m confident when it’s complete it will be a state-of-the-art facility."