Kingston District Council and Cape Jaffa Development Company are preparing for a temporary closure of the Cape Jaffa Marina boat launch facility and navigation channel following the March long weekend.
To allow dredging operations to start for placement of a submersible dredge discharge pipe, the facility will be closed to mariners from 7.00am Tuesday, 10 March, 2020.
Commenting the latest news, Mayor Kay Rasheed said: “Council were hoping that restricted access to fishers may have been able to be achieved, unfortunately this is not viable or safe during this initial stage. Council were mindful of the most appropriate time to implement a temporary closure of the facility, and wanted to allow unrestricted access over the March long weekend.”
A significant campaign to dredge the marina channel back to ‘as constructed’ depth of -3.5 AHD to allow for placement of permanent ‘by-pass’ dredge pipe is required. This will enable the Damen CSD350 to begin works on the western side of the breakwater.
The installation of this pipe will allow for dredging without the need for future disruption to mariners using the facility.
It is anticipated that the required dredging and placement of the pipe may take between two to four weeks to be completed. The magnitude of these works is significant, with complexities and challenges expected during the course of the works.
Additionally, some works may be affected or delayed due to weather conditions.