Plans for $3.8m Whyalla ‘loop’ jetty released for public consultation, with to begin in February
WORK on a new 165m ‘loop’ jetty at Whyalla would begin early next year, if the local council’s $3.8 million project gets the green light.
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WORK on a new 165m ‘loop’ jetty at Whyalla would begin early next year, if the local council’s $3.8 million project wins development approval.
The State Commission Assessment Panel has released project designs for public comment.
Whyalla Council Mayor Lyn Breuer hoped the new jetty, which features a 145m circular boardwalk, would become “an icon in the region”.
“It’s something different and we’ve taken a bit of a risk in building it,” Ms Breuer said.
“We’re hoping it will bring tourists to the area to have a look because it’s quite a unique design.
“We’ll capture some of the grey nomads going through and any keen anglers can have a go because we’re known to be good fishing spot in Whyalla.”
The council is preparing to open a tender process for the jetty’s construction, and Ms Breuer hoped local people would find work on the project.
“It's very much a community facility and we want our community to benefit as much as possible,” Ms Breuer said.
The State Government is contributing $1 million towards the project’s cost.
Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, which took over the town’s steelworks after Arrium went into administration in 2016, will donate the steel for the project.
When the project was flagged about a year ago, it was expected to cost about $1.25 million, but since then, the council has revised the designs to make jetty much longer.
If approved, the council hopes to start work in February and have the jetty open in time for Christmas 2019.
Whyalla chief executive Chris Crowley said under the tender process — to kick off later this month or early in October — tenderers could be advantaged if they planned to make a larger local investment in procurement and employment.
A State Commission Assessment Panel report on the project said the current 121m jetty, built in the 1970s, was in a state of disrepair.
The work’s potential environmental impacts included noise pollution and disturbance of shore vegetation, seabeds and sea life clustered on the jetty’s pylons.
These would be addressed by measures such as employing someone qualified in fauna management to assess pylons before removal and potentially relocate sea life, noise mitigation controls and planting new vegetation.
Public comment on the plans is due on Thursday, September 20.
Visit saplanningportal.sa.gov.au
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