• One of the Walker Group concept plans for Toondah Harbour.
Work will start on the new barge ramps for Macleay Island in the coming days, following the awarding of the tender for the construction and upgrade.
The successful tender has been won by the Pensar Construction Group, civil building specialists.
The work will involve the upgrading of the existing barge ramp on the Macleay foreshore as well as a new barge ramp to be constructed in the same location.
The old barge ramp will be for the use of island boats and recreational vessels, and the new barge ramp will be for the use of the Stradbroke Ferry barges.
It will mean uninterrupted access for islanders and their craft.
Cr Mark Edwards said: "The existing boat ramp requires significant repairs to cater for the weight of a large loaded barge, and council officers have advised that it is more economical to build a new barge ramp into deeper water adjacent to this original structure.
"That means there will be two boat ramps in this location - a new one into deeper water for barge operations, and the old, revamped ramp for domestic use.
"A third ramp in the area will be the totally new structure on the opposite side of the Macleay jetty that is part of the larger foreshore project," Cr Edwards said.
Pensar Construction Group will be designing and constructing the new barge ramp and carrying out major repairs and improvement to the existing ramp.
They advise that work will start on the site in July and construction will take until October, provided weather is friendly to the project.
WEINAM CREEK NOW THE FOCUS FOR WALKER GROUP
The recent release of plans for Toondah Harbour and the announcement by the State Labor Government that the concept can proceed, now opens the way for the Weinam Creek PDA project.
Weinam Creek has been on the ‘back burner’ whilst the nominated developers, the Walker Group, put the finishing touches to the Toondah Harbour PDA project.
Peter Saba of the Walker Group has told The Friendly Bay Islander that ‘full attention’ can now be concentrated on Weinam Creek now that Toondah has reached its current status.
Toondah is different to the Weinam project given that much of Toondah is over water areas and will require considerable Federal Government involvement and environmental approvals.
“Whilst Weinam is behind in our planning, at the end of the day it will be quicker to deliver because less approvals will be required,” Peter Saba said.
Plans for the Weinam Creek PDA were put on hold when the original concepts produced were ‘not satisfactory’ as far as Redland City Council was concerned.
“Council wanted the parking to be improved,” the Walker Group spokesperson said.
“We are producing another proposal for Weinam.
“It has a different feel to Toondah. It is lower density with an emphasis on the public foreshore. We also have to get the car parking and the terminal right.
“It is a bit trickier and we need to come up with the right solution.
“It not only has to be right for the community, but it also has to be right commercially,” Peter Saba added.
Now that all Walker efforts can be be focused on Weinam, it is expected a final concept plan will not be far away.
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