Lake Wendouree Tramway Replacement Project to be Accelerated to Avoid Traffic Disruption | The mail
news, latest news,
Work will begin next week to replace the tram tracks at Wendouree Parade in a $2.4 million project that has spanned a decade. Groundbreaking will be done on Monday for the tram track replacement project, which is expected to take up to two months. The 1.4 kilometer stretch of tram track, which dates back to 1905 and 1930, along Wendouree Parade will be replaced. Ballarat Tramway Museum chairman Paul Mong said the project would take a month and a half to two months. Traffic on the Wendouree Parade tram track section will be one-way for the duration of the works. “All of this will take a month and a half to two months, but we expect to complete the majority of the Wendouree Parade in the coming weeks,” Mr Mong said. READ MORE: Huge funding boost for Ballarat Tramway Museum will finally see tracks replaced Mr Mong says Fulton Hogan has been awarded the contract to carry out the work and they are trying to fast-track the project to avoid disruption . The Ballarat Tramway Museum has worked with Heritage Victoria for the past two years on the project. Mr Mong said the BTM was delighted to see the project kick off after 10 years of lobbying. “The condition of the rail is very, very bad and it’s causing a lot of damage to our tram construction and potentially putting the public at risk, so we’re being proactive,” Mong said. “We showcase Ballarat’s history, but we also bring economic impact to Ballarat through tourism.” The trams carry around 30,000 people each year, allowing them to relive the past and experience what Ballarat was like before the 1970s. Mr Mong said there was an interesting story to the tram track restoration project . “The tracks that were replaced in the 1930s were obviously made during the depression, so they used a lot of unskilled workers to lay the tracks, which created jobs,” he said. IN OTHER NEWS “Fast forward nearly 100 years and obviously we are generating local jobs by replacing the track again.” We are trying through the grants to generate local jobs and use as much of the local suppliers to help them recover from coronavirus” Mr Mong thanked all levels of government for their support of the project. Meanwhile, the Ballarat Tramway Museum will open the doors of its new museum this weekend. The new building , fully funded by the museum and its members, was built to house, memorabilia and photo collections. It will open Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more details, visit https:// www.btm.org.au/ If you see this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier as we have made this story available to subscribers only Thank you so much for your support and allowing us to continue to tell the story of balla rat. We appreciate your support for journalism in our great city.
/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/HGEQmb32Jrb7fFYffAPJvy/09d2154d-c254-4521-9038-38ecfb5ee68f.jpg/r11_80_4503_2618_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
Work will begin next week to replace the tram tracks at Wendouree Parade in a $2.4 million project that has spanned a decade.
PROJECT: Traffic on the Wendouree Parade tram track section will be one-way while the tram track replacement work is underway. Photo: Lachlan Bence
Groundbreaking will be done on Monday for the tram track replacement project, which is expected to take up to two months.
The 1.4 kilometer stretch of tram track, which dates back to 1905 and 1930, along Wendouree Parade will be replaced.
Ballarat Tramway Museum chairman Paul Mong said the project would take a month and a half to two months.
Traffic on the Wendouree Parade tram track section will be one-way for the duration of the works.
“All of this will take a month and a half to two months, but we expect to complete the majority of the Wendouree Parade in the coming weeks,” Mr Mong said.
“There’s been a lot of planning going into this project to try to ramp up as quickly as possible so there’s less of an impact on the community as far as traffic goes.”
Mr Mong said Fulton Hogan had been awarded the contract to carry out the work and they were trying to fast-track the project to avoid disruption.
The Ballarat Tramway Museum has worked with Heritage Victoria for the past two years on the project.
Mr Mong said the BTM was delighted to see the project kick off after 10 years of lobbying.
“The condition of the rail is very, very bad and it’s causing a lot of damage to our tram construction and potentially putting the public at risk, so we’re being proactive,” Mong said.
“The benefits will be enormous as we will be able to operate our trams safely for many decades to come.
Paul Mong
“We showcase Ballarat’s history, but we also bring economic impact to Ballarat through tourism.”
The trams carry around 30,000 people every year, allowing them to relive the past and experience what Ballarat was like before the 1970s.
Mr. Mong said there was an interesting story in the tram track restoration project.
“The tracks that were replaced in the 1930s were obviously made during the depression, so they used a lot of unskilled workers to lay the tracks, which created jobs,” he said.
“Fast forward nearly 100 years and obviously we are generating local jobs by replacing the track again.
“We are trying, through the grants, to generate local jobs and use local suppliers as much as possible to help them recover from the coronavirus.”
Mr. Mong thanked all levels of government for supporting the project.
Meanwhile, the Ballarat Tramway Museum will open the doors to its new museum this weekend.
The new building, fully funded by the museum and its members, was built to house collections, memorabilia and photos.
It will be open on Saturday April 2 and Sunday April 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more details visit, https://www.btm.org.au/
If you see this message, you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we have made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you so much for your support and for allowing us to continue to tell the story of Ballarat. We appreciate your support for journalism in our great city.
