After talking about it since 2009, the government has finally let the contract to duplicate the Cotter Road between the Tuggeranong Parkway and Yarralumla Creek. The successful firm is Huon Contractors. Black Mountain Construction Assurance have been appointed as the project oversight. Both parties have since consulted with ACTEA and the Equestrian Park Management Group.
Works will begin on 5 October, primarily setting up the site office with the intention of commencing the road works in mid-October. You will start to see signs appearing on the Cotter Road in the next few days. Good news is that the site office will be in the old woodlot on the corner of Cotter Road and Lady Denman Drive – not on the southern side of Cotter Road where it could have interrupted the trail between Illoura and Curtin horse paddocks.
The order of works will be to construct the new bridge over Yarralumla Creek and the duplicated roadway next to Equestrian Park before replacing the old bridge and upgrading the existing roadway. This suggests that the greatest disruption to Equestrian Park will be in the first half of the eighteen month project. The government has committed to a signalised road crossing for horses, probably to the east of the Yarralumla Creek bridge.
All updates for local equestrians will be posted on the ACTEA website (www.actea.asn.au) as well as on the new Equestrian Park Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/EquestrianParkACT.