Port to complete channel project on time despite dredging delays

Townsville port says its channel widening project can be completed on time despite issues with its new rock wall.

TOWNSVILLE port says its flagship channel widening project can be completed on time despite the slumping of the seabed inside its new rock wall and six-month delays to dredging.

A port spokeswoman was commenting after sources claimed the rock wall facing Ross River had slumped half a metre because of poor design.

This latest issue follows reports last year of disturbance to the wall’s fabric membrane and a need for additional rock to address higher than anticipated pressure from high tides.

It is understood this problem was partly to blame for a $39m project cost blowout to $232m, although the government and port have also said Covid-19 impacted project delivery.

The new reclaim area for the Townsville port channel capacity upgrade.

The port is undertaking the biggest project in its history, creating a new outer harbour reclamation area and widening the sea channel to allow access for larger 300m-long ships.

On the slumping of the seabed, the port spokeswoman said minor repairs to the rock wall buttress were undertaken after movement due to settlement of the natural seabed on the inside of the buttress rock wall.

“The movement was identified as part of routine monitoring. There is no issue with the foundation of the main rock wall which is an independent structure from the buttress,” the spokeswoman said.

But a start to the project’s dredging campaign is expected to be six months’ late.

The dredge spoil will be used as fill for the 62ha reclamation area bunded by the rock wall.

Contractors have been developing a Temporary Unloading Facility outside the wall where barges can unload dredge material

Sunrise over the Port of Townsville. Photo: Stephen Worner

The port spokeswoman said the largest backhoe dredge of its kind in Australia, the Woomera, was now on route to Townsville from Brisbane.

A small area would be dredged around the unloading facility before shipping channel widening commenced by March, she said.

“Woomera is a mechanical backhoe dredge which is being used as it reduces the footprint of

sediment plumes, as part of our commitment to safeguard the sensitive environment in which

we operate,” the spokeswoman said.

Weather permitting, dredging will take place 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is

expected to take two years.

“The $232m channel upgrade project was always scheduled to be completed in late 2023, and while there have been changes to timing for some elements of the work, we are still aiming to achieve this overall completion date,” the spokeswoman said.

Originally published as Port to complete channel project on time despite dredging delays