COWRA COUNCIL
Working For You CANOWINDRA ROAD TOP OF REPAIR SCHEDULE Council road crews are working feverishly with contractors to repair major wet weather damage on Canowindra Road, one of the Shire’s major arterial links. Two crews are working concurrently on heavy patching work on the road to get it back to a ship-shape state after the record winter and early spring rains in the district. The work involves recycling the current road base with a 50mm overlay of new gravel material that is then lime stabilised followed by resealing to provide a safe and trafficable surface. The work has caused some small delays to local traffic with drivers having so far shown exemplary patience and understanding of the importance of the work.
The “unusual rain event” over the past few months saw Council apply for the Shire to be declared a Natural Disaster area with special funding sought from the State Government for immediate repairs. Two claims have been submitted totalling about $1,780,000 for damage over the recent flooding events. This damage is spread over the Shire’s 1260km of road network. Flooding of local rivers and creeks has also seen a large number of local roads closed for long periods with Cowra’s low-level bridge on the Lachlan River inundated for more than a month. Other areas closed for long periods included the Merriganowry Bridge, Back Creek Reserve Road, and Brook Lane.
Oct 28, 2016
RESHEETING OF GRAVEL ROADS UNDERWAY The gravel section of Glenlogan Road north-west of Cowra is only one of the local thoroughfares that Council road crews are working on to get back to good condition. Road repair teams were this week “re-sheeting” the local road; a process involving adding between 50–75mm of gravel to the base and compacting the surface as an overlay. While the heavy rain has taken a high toll on the district’s 560km of sealed road, it has been particularly punishing on the Shire’s 700km of gravel roads. These have seen surfaces rutted and corrugated by the constant wet weather with wash-aways and collapsing surfaces also a major problem. Some roads have been so badly-affected, that it will be some time before heavy machinery will be able to access isolated roads in the Shire for repairs.
Council road crews hard at work on Canowindra Road repairing the damage from five months of persistent rain in the district.
PARKS AND GARDEN CREWS CATCHING-UP The record rain event that hit the district from May to October has created plenty of catch-up work for Council’s parks and garden crews. Council currently has about a dozen outdoor crew trying to keep-up with runaway grass growth on the Shire’s 10-hectares of sports fields, reserves, cemeteries and the airport. This figure doesn’t include the acres of roadside verges that crews are also working to keep under control ensuring shoulders remain accessible and clear. Council gardens in the Shire have also taken-off with trimming, weeding, and control of insect pests and parasites now a top priority. Presuming that the weather remains mild and reasonably dry, outdoor teams will continue until summer to get our fields and gardens back to the standard that visitors and local residents have come to expect.
Ben Ware taking the chance of some dry weather to get on top of the mowing at Cowra Airport.
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NEW RECYCLING CENTRE A HIT The new Community Recycling Centre (CRC) at Cowra has proven a hit with environmentallyconscious locals who have already deposited two container loads of recyclable material at the facility.
On top of the annual Council budget in excess of $1 million for grading and resheeting unsealed roads, Council has applied for more than $900,000 in natural disaster relief funding for this vital work.
Located at Council’s Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) on Glenlogan Road, the Centre has already saved tonnes of paints, gas bottles, fluorescent light tubes, and chemicals from having to be disposed of in landfill. Recycling figures so far for the facility, free to all Cowra Shire residents, include: · 1200kg of water-based paints; · 1000kg of oil-based paints; · 600kg of gas bottles; · 100kg of fluorescent light tubes/bulbs; · 200L of chemicals.
Resheeting Glenlogan Road, Council road crew Shawn McVicar and Stuart Bowen.
The centre allows residents to drop-off any of those awkward household items including old paint, gas bottles, motor oils, fluoro lights, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and batteries.
Cowra Waste Operations Supervisor Stephen Fisher at the new Community Recycling Centre (CRC) at Cowra MRF on Glenlogan Rd.
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Council grader resheeting Glenlogan Road, Council has applied for more than $900,000 in natural disaster relief funding for this work throughout the Shire. Cowra Shire Council Private Bag 342 Cowra NSW 2794 116 Kendal Street, Cowra, NSW 2794 Email: council@cowra.nsw.gov.au