Newcastle South Leagues Club, Merewether.
Glennies/Lake St Clair/Breakneck Ridge road upgrade
Mon, 30/08/2010 - 14:48 — JH
The good news is that subject to the rain staying away we will be commencing the northern access road 3 -4 day upgrade works at Glennies Creek/Lake St Claire early next week 6 September.
Officially this site is known as Breakneck Ridge. Adds to the allure.
Update 30 August
We have secured funding from the NSW HPA body, permissions from regional and local (Glennies) State Water representatives, approvals from the local land lessee and have chosen and awarded a successful contractor.
Based on reports from the weekend that the Glennies northern access track is dry the contractor is targeting commencement early next week and completion within 3-4 days.
Start date assumes no rain to ensure operator safety on the excavator.
The objective is to give us access to the site - officially known as "Breakneck Ridge "- within a few days of significant rain in the area rather than the current situation of 10-12 days waitng for it to dry out.
I will post more detail and before/after shots when complete.
John
Meetings
Upcoming Events
- February 2012 Comp Round(Club Comp Round)(16 days)
- February Meeting(Event)(20 days)
- Clean Up Strezi Day(Event)(24 days)
- March 2012 Comp Round(Club Comp Round)(44 days)
Works complete
The weekend saw completion of the Breakneck Ridge North Road upgrade to the stage we had planned and a few out of specification extras thrown in with additional aggregate, road widening and cut in of several passing areas.
Dawson has photos in Powerpoint if you are interested.
The 4.0km track is now marked with pink fluro topped star posts. Uphill drivers should aim to pass each of these closely on the right i.e. the star post should be viewed out your left passenger window as you drive past going to launch.
The entire track is slashed to 3.0-5.0M wide, rocks removed, creek crossing switchback at 1.1km stabilised and widened, 30 tonnes aggregate tractored in by the bucket load and applied to 150M of the critical slip area 1.2kms in, trees removed, side growth trimmed back, second switchback at 3.1km widened significantly and turning point cut in, narrow slippage point at 3.1km widened and safety wall established.
Now have ample width and height for large 4WD with hanggliders to negotiate the track. AWD such as Subaru are fine for clearance and traction.
The track has been rerouted for optimum drainage in two areas. Launch should be now accessible 3-5 days after heavy rain.
There is still a 50M section at 3.2kms where the potential exists to slip sideways and off the cliff so safety first please and wait the 3-5 days. This section should be inspected on foot if in doubt before committing your vehicle. Park your car in the cut in passing section area at the second switch back and walk up the 100M if rain has been recent.
Always a good idea to take a set of bush clippers when you go, please help us maintain the access and be gentle with the farmers cattle.
Thanks to NSWHPA, State Water, local lessees.
JH
Well done JH
I've been going up Glennies hill for 21 years and some guys a lot longer. We have had several working Bsss but this work takes the cake John.
I'm sure you will get a lot of thanks over comming months and years as this great site gets more use.
JOD
Fantastic
Spectacular work John, thank you for all of your efforts.
John has uploaded some photos to coppermine. Click on the image to see the album:
I've uploaded the powerpoint presentation he mentioned to here (BIG File Warning: 10MB!)
Now, I just need a westerly day and a leave pass....
Works delayed until drier
After weekend discussions with the lessee and the contractor the work is delayed until the sub surface conditions dry out. We will need two weeks of sunshine before the machinery can safely operate. Targeting end of this month weather allowing.
JH
Stage 1 North track complete
The initial clearing was completed on Sunday with the help of a group of paras.
Now is a slow (but shorter at 4.4kms) trip up but a large 4wd made it without scratches. Usable with caution.
Major works pending
JH