Aarons Pass Road Upgrade
Why we are Upgrading Aarons Pass Road
In April GEZ completed much needed maintenance to Aarons Pass Road. A number of complementary emails and calls were received from members of the community recognising the quality of work being done by GEZ and local company A1 Earthworx.
Following the Determination of the Modification, Aarons Pass Road will now be upgraded. The upgraded road will be an outstanding asset for Mid Western Regional Council.
Areas for vegetation removal were identified during the Modification process. This resulted in 6.59 hectares of native vegetation being approved for removal. Clearing is controlled by the Biodiversity Management Plan. A copy of the plan is here.
Additionally several areas of non native vegetation and weeds along the roadside will also be removed. These areas are not counted in the 6.59 hectares of native vegetation approved for removal.
Clearing Protocol
A Vegetation Disturbance Map has been prepared for the entire length of Aarons Pass Road. It includes:
- The road design,
- All areas to be disturbed
- Location of Vegetation communities (PCT 277, PCT 290, non native)
- Individual Acacia meiantha and Pomaderris cotoneaster to be retained
When calculating the amount of vegetation to be removed a works buffer was placed around the approved road design to allow for construction activities to occur.
The blade swept path was taken into account. Pruning of vegetation within this area will be required to allow for the passage of the blade components of the wind turbines.
Copies of this plan are available below.
Aarons Pass Road Vegetation Disturbance Plan 1
Aarons Pass Road Vegetation Disturbance Plan 2
Aarons Pass Road Vegetation Disturbance Plan 3
Aarons Pass Road Vegetation Disturbance Plan 4
Aarons Pass Road Vegetation Disturbance Plan 5
Aarons Pass Road Vegetation Disturbance Plan 6
A Clearing Chainage Table has been developed detailing all clearing activities within each 1000 m section of road.
A copy of the Clearing Chainage Table can be found here.
The finalised Vegetation Disturbance Plan is then marked out along the road by a suitably qualified surveyor and ecologist. All finalised areas for vegetation removal, no go zones, pruning zones, translocation areas and habitat trees are surveyed and identified.
Weekly Clearing Statistics
At the end of each day an inspection is done by the Ecologist and the Daily Inspection Record is updated
At the end of each week an Independent Ecologist inspects and reviews the week’s clearing and produces a Weekly Inspection Report. Once clearing has been fully completed for each road section a copy of the Weekly Inspection Report will be uploaded.
Week Ending 23 August 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to Ch 4600
No habitat trees removed
Week Ending 28 August 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to Ch 5550
8 habitat trees removed
Week Ending 5 September 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to Ch 7000
No habitat trees removed
Signed off Inspection Report week ending 5 September2019
Signed off Inspection Report week ending 14 September 2019
Week Ending 20th September 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to Ch 10,100
No habitat trees removed
Week Ending 27th September 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to Ch 13,400
No habitat trees removed
Week Ending 4th October 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to Ch 13,400 and from Ch 19,000 to Ch 18,300
No habitat trees removed
Week Ending 11th October 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to Ch 15,500 and from Ch 18,400 to Ch 20,000
No habitat trees removed
Week Ending 18th October 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to CH15,500 and from CH16,800 to Ch 20,000
23 Habitat trees removed
Signed off Inspection Report week ending 18 October 2019
Week Ending 1st November 2019
Clearing of over storey trees to CH15,500 and from CH16,800 to Ch 20,000
28 Habitat trees removed
Week Ending 8th November 2019
All overs storey trees have been removed.
Clearing of habitat trees within from chainage 12,000 – 15,500 and from chainage 16,800 – 19,400.
Signed off Inspection Report week ending 8th November 2019
Week Ending 15th November 2019
No clearing activities this week
Week Ending 22nd November 2019
All overstorey trees removed
69 Habitat Trees removed chainage 7,400 to chainage 8,700
Week Ending 6th December 2019
All overstorey trees removed
20 Habitat Trees removed chainage 8,700 to chainage 9,600
Week Ending 13th December 2019
All overstorey trees removed
17 Habitat Trees removed chainage 10,000 to chainage 10,600
Week Ending 10th January 2019
All overstorey trees removed
30 Habitat Trees removed chainage 10,600 to chainage 11,600
Week Ending 22nd January 2020
All overstorey trees removed
19 Habitat Trees removed chainage 11,600 to Chainage 12,150
Week Ending 7 February 2020
All overstorey trees removed
5 Habitat Trees removed Chainage 12,800 tp CHainage 13,584.
Managing Acacia meiantha
A number individual specimens of Acacia meiantha have been identified for removal and translocation. Removal and translocation has commenced under the supervision of a suitably qualified ecologist with a number of plants taken to a greenhouse in Mudgee. Following the upgrading of Aarons Pass Road these individuals will be relocated back into the road reserve.
An Acacia meiantha Translocation Plan has been prepared and can accessed here
Community Engagement
The upgrade of Aarons Pass Road by GEZ and their local contractor A1 Earthworx will take approximately ten weeks to complete.
During this time there may be short delays.
Traffic control will be in place along sections of Aarons Pass Road to ensure public safety. Please follow the directions of the Traffic Controllers?
If you’re planning on travelling along Aarons Pass Road please check the latest conditions and travel times on our Facebook Page or call us on 1300 524 463 for an update.
Community Complaints
We take complaints seriously at CWP and we recognise that there will be times when things don’t appear to be running smoothly.
If you’ve got a complaint then please call us on 1300 524 463 or use the Contact Us form below and we will respond within 24 hours of receiving the complaint.
Need more information? Please fill in the Contact Form below and we’ll get back to you
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