A barge will enter the Clyde River on Sunday to be used by specialist crew as they investigate the riverbed’s geotechnical conditions as part of the Batemans Bay Bridge replacement project.
A Roads and Maritime Services spokesperson said the NSW Government have provided $274 million for the project which will improve freight access, reduce traffic delays in peak periods, reduce economic and social impacts by removing the current lift span bridge and remove delays due to bridge openings.
“The 96m2 barge will travel by sea down the coastline of the south coast this week arriving in the Clyde River on Sunday, weather permitting” the spokesperson said.
“On Monday it will be docked at the southern boat ramp next to the bridge for about 30 minutes where a drill rig will be loaded onto the barge for investigation work to start.
“The barge will be used for marine geotechnical investigations.”
The spokesperson said the work will involve drilling small holes into the riverbed to collect material samples and pushing a steel cone into the riverbed to assess the firmness of the material.
“The barge will be stationary at several different locations across the river where piles of the new bridge will be,” the RMS spokesperson said.
Investigation work will take up to four weeks to complete and the barge will leave the area when finished.
For the safety of workers and other vessels, the barge will be surrounded by navigation safety buoys and signage at all times.
For more information on the Batemans Bay Bridge replacement project visit www.rms.nsw.gov.au/batemansbaybridge
