‘Absolute shambles’: Alice Springs CBD roadworks impacting business

Factors outside the control of government, including supply chain issues, have been blamed for delayed roadworks impacting Alice Springs as it prepares for its busiest weekend of the year.

The government says supply chain disruptions and undocumented critical services locations is behind a major delay in the Alice Springs CBD revitalisation project.

Coles shopping centre manager Steve Gooley said during consultation for the NT government’s project, which was supposed to create more “shading and cooling” in Alice Springs’ CBD, businesses were told works would take 10 months, with an estimated completion date of late 2021.

More than one-and-a-half years after the expected completion date, Mr Gooley said the “absolute shambles” created by the works had heavily impacted business in the complex.

“It’s just been a complete and utter catastrophe for our retailers because they’ve been blocked a lot for that time, the roads been shut, it’s been hard to cross between Yeperenye and the Coles centre and it’s just not conducive for retailing,” he said.

The concept plan for the Bath St and Hartley St works presented to retailers in a business community consultation document in November 2020, works have still not neared completion in June 2023. Picture: Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics.

“There’s enough problems in Alice Springs with retailing let alone making it a whole lot harder by not having good access into a shopping centre.”

He said two businesses had left the complex since works began, which he believed was due to street works.

“There has been a significant downturn in traffic since those works started, and a substantial downturn in turnovers,” he said.

He said he had “never seen anything like it” in his 30 years of managing shopping centres.

Araluen MLA Robyn Lambley says the CBD Revitalisation works, particularly along Hartley St, are a serious hazard. Picture: Laura Hooper.

Araluen MLA Robyn Lambley said the works, particularly along Hartley St, were a “really serious hazard for anyone with any sort of mobility restrictions at all”.

“It beggars belief what they’re doing and what they haven’t done, I’m just as outraged as Steve is, it’s been going on for way too long,” she said.

“It’s been a debacle from start to finish, this could happen nowhere else apart from Alice Springs.

“What should have taken no more than 12 months has gone on for years, and I guess for me it’s just another negative thing going on in town, on top of the ongoing crime issues you’ve got works that just seem to go on and on without any real improvement.”

Mrs Lambley said the delay in completion of the road works was “unacceptable” and would “only happen in Alice Springs”. Picture: Laura Hooper.

She said whenever she discussed the issue of the CBD works with other Alice Springs residents there was a consensus the delay had been “a disgrace”.

“I think in this town we’re just so used to accepting the unacceptable that some people raise their eyebrows and march on, it’s just another thing they have no control over,” she said.

“But it’s not acceptable.

“This weekend’s the busiest week of the year, we’ve got people from all over coming to Alice Springs and look at the state of the place, it’s a disgrace.”

The Department of Infrastructure, Logistics and Planning say major works on Bath St are now complete after almost two years, with only "minor non-disruptive landscaping works being complete over coming weeks". Picture: DIPL.

A Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics spokesman said all “major works” requiring road or pedestrian walkway closures on Bath St in the CBD were now complete, after commencing in September 2021, with “minor non-disruptive landscaping works” taking place over the coming weeks.

He said the remainder of the project, including Hartley St and Gregory Tce, was expected to be completed in August 2023.

He said the project had experienced delays due to supply chain limitations including steel availability, landscaping and tree supplies, and availability of local companies to undertake traffic management, alongside undocumented service connections.

“Site conditions such as undocumented critical services locations including power and water connections to shopping centres could not be foreseen in the design phase, meaning design changes were required during the construction phase.”

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