$7.3 million worth of tenders to be voted on by Ballarat City Council  

Ballarat City Council could award $7.3 million worth of tenders at its 27 October Council Meeting, including the Sturt Street shared bike path, the Victoria Park community sports pavilion, and Cuthberts Road reconstruction works. 

The Sturt Street bike path will be built from Dawson Street to Grenville Street to continue the shared path constructed by Regional Roads Victoria along the rest of Sturt Street. 

The contract is for $3.7 million and is recommended to be awarded to Ballarat-based Fulton Hogan Industries Pty Ltd. 

The bike path will be built on the Sturt Street median strip’s south side, while other works will include intersection modifications, new asphalt overlays and line marking, street trees and landscaping. 

The works will create 12 full-time local jobs, while approximately 97 per cent of the total project value will use locally sourced labour, materials, plant and equipment. 

The Victoria Park community sports pavilion will include four accessible changerooms, social spaces, kitchen and kiosk, internal and external toilets, all associated services, and carparking and landscaping works. 

It forms part of the Victoria Park Redevelopment Project, which has a Council budget of $5.2 million and forms part of the Fast-Tracking Recreation Projects Program. 

The State Government is also providing $500,000. 

Consultation with Victoria Park Soccer Club, Lucas Cricket Club and other park users was held to ensure the pavilion could accommodate tenant sporting clubs while still being flexible for other user and community groups. 

The recommendation is for the contract to be awarded to Ballarat firm A.W Nicholson for $2.658 million. 

Approximately 95 per cent of the total project value will use locally sourced labour, materials, plant, and equipment. 

The Cuthberts Road reconstruction is also recommended to be awarded to Fulton Hogan Industries Pty Ltd for $956,976. 

It includes stabilisation and reconstruction of 1.8 kilometres of road with a sealed surface, new open drains to channel water and three intersection roads constructed with asphalt. 

This is one of four road reconstruction tender works involving pavement stabilisation funded under the Federal Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program Phase 2. 

It will provide six full-time jobs and approximately 99.4 per cent of the total project value will use locally sourced labour, materials, plant and equipment. 

This project will also include the planting of 200 native tube stock trees to offset the works’ carbon footprint. 

City of Ballarat CEO Evan King said these tenders are a significant part of Council getting on and delivering for the community. $7.3 million worth of work is also a great economic stimulus and a sign Ballarat’s construction industry is vital to our economic recovery, particularly post COVID. 

“These tenders could see local jobs created and local products and materials used which would be a significant boost to our local economy,” Mr King said. 

“It’s also important to recognise these tenders will also really benefit the community through major recreational and road improvements.”