Page 2302 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2018
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north of the alignment along Flemington Road where the first block became available. Over the coming months the northern blocks will be completed before progressing to the south. This is aligned with the construction schedule to finish areas from north to south.
(2) Yes, all of the trees that have been grown for the project have been acclimatised to Canberra temperatures at Yarralumla Nursery. When the areas have been prepared the trees are planted in specially excavated pits, staked to provide support, watered regularly to quickly establish strong roots and monitored.
(3) A safe working area is required during the landscape planting and this will involve periodic lane closures adjacent to the construction. However the timing and duration of these disruptions will be managed for minimal disruption.
(4) To allow a continuous flow to the overall construction process there is a requirement for lighter construction activities to overlap with planting. The strategy is that planting will only occur once all of the heavy construction (concrete pouring, major earthworks etc.) activities have been completed. Additionally, light construction activities will occur outside of and not within the landscaped areas and consequently they will not impact upon one another.
(5) All of the heavy construction activity, including pouring concrete and earthworks are completed prior to the landscaping work. This means that there would be no interaction between heavy machinery with the newly planted landscape areas.
(6) The trees pits are initially dug during the earthworks preparation of the area with an excavator. The tree pits are then backfilled with specially prepared soils and root irrigation tubes, before the area is levelled out and lightly compacted. Prior to the tree being planted a smaller auger hole is drilled, in the centre of the underlying larger pit, where the trees is placed. This process ensures that the trees are held firmly and upright within the lightly compacted prepared soils. This will enable the tree roots to grow out into the available soil and beyond - quickly establishing the tree within its new environment.
(7) The Light Rail project has engaged industry specialists and used best practice methods to develop the landscape design and construction processes. The landscaping contractors work closely with the nursery regarding transportation and planting of the trees. This ensures that each of the trees receives the maximum care between the nursery and their final planting location.
(8) The trees are transported from Yarralumla Nursery to the site using trucks. Careful placement and support and strapping of the trees within the truck by the experienced landscape contractor ensures that all of the trees are transported without damage.
(9) All of the soils used within the Light Rail landscape and tree pits have been specially designed and prepared. There are a number of soil types that have been developed to meet specific requirements depending upon their intended use and location. Leading soil technology consultants were engaged to specify the different soil types being used. Each of the soil types are currently being prepared onsite by the landscape contractor who uses a combination of site recovered clean materials and imported materials to meet the specified soil type design.
(10) The costs of removing trees prior to construction was incorporated into the general cost for the alignment site preparation and it is not possible to provide an estimate.
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