Welcome to a bird’s eye view of Ipswich Central. Notice anything different?
Over the years, many people have invoked the famed Sir Joh economic index: cranes on the city skyline was clear evidence of progress.
That means progress is happening in Ipswich Central with a new tower crane erected on the Nicholas Street redevelopment site at the weekend.
“This is an exciting development, a real sign of progress as Ipswich Central is rebuilt and turned into a place all of the community can be proud of,” said Interim Administrator Greg Chemello.
A spokesman for Hutchinson Builders was pleased with the operation, which he said went smoothly.
“Assembly of the new tower crane started at 2am on Saturday. The crew was held up for about an hour due to rain but still managed to finish ahead of schedule and we had the crane assembled and on site by 3.30pm and the mobile crane off Bremer Street by 6pm Saturday,” he said.
It is anticipated that it will operate Monday-to-Friday for between 10-12 hours a day.
The crane will be 6.5 metres above the finished height of the new Ipswich City Council administration building (eight-storeys). It has been located in the footprint/basement of the admin building site and will be onsite for about one year.
It will be used to move building materials around the admin building site, the library and the civic space and during building each of the spaces.
Other work taking place this week includes:
• Preparation and pouring of library slab
• Pour concrete for lifts core foundation for admin building
• Preparation for paving in Nicholas St, continue installation of lighting, seating, trees and garden beds
• A workforce of 60 is now operating on site and this is expected to grow to about 200 by the start of 2020.
Businesses in the Nicholas St precinct remain open during construction.
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I cannot wait to see this finished. It looks amazing. Time to plan a grand opening. 2021 will come along really quickly. I think the Ipswich City Orchestras Inc could be enticed to take the lead. Andrej Rieu as a guest conductor perhaps? He drags in thousands. Just what the new traders will need for a kick along….I know local choirs will support.
What a great idea Nigel!