Esplanade Pontoon Access Ramps Modifications

⁠⁠⁠Derwent Valley Council provides and maintains an extensive network of civil infrastructure over an area of 4,111km2. Situated west of Hobart, the primary service centre of the Municipality is New Norfolk. Derwent Valley Council has a commitment to providing and managing a high quality network of assets and enhancing local industries to support our refurbishment needs and has identified remediation and improvement works to continue to improve and enhance its civil infrastructure.

In 2017 Derwent Valley Council commenced a significant upgrade of the New Norfolk Esplanade and associated infrastructure as part of its objective to provide long term social and economic improvements for the community. Part of the upgrade programme included the construction of rowing ways and an extension to the existing floating pontoon infrastructure to facilitate multi-use activities in this precinct.
The access ramps (gangways) to the pontoons have been designed and checked in accordance with AS 3962-2001 Guidelines for Design of Marinas which states that the maximum slope of a gangway and treadplate for a marina should not exceed 1:3.5. However, since practical completion it has been observed that during periods of low water the slope of the access ramps appears very steep and can be disconcerting for users and notably when transporting rowing vessels.

This situation is further exacerbated when traversing the checker plate access at the top of the access ramps. This ramp provides access from the concrete apron to the gangway. At certain tides and notably low tide, this access ramp and apex can become steep and care is required to negotiate and again, notably when transporting rowing vessels.
Council is looking for a suitably experienced and qualified contractor to undertake rectification works referencing the provided drawings and complying with appropriate standards.