Construction on the raising of the Garden Route Dam
spillway is on track and is expected to be completed within ten months, George
Municipality said in a statement on Friday.
Construction of the spillway kicked off in May and
the old concrete spillway was demolished and a new drainage channel
excavated.
The first basic concrete layer has since started
with more than 500 rock anchors installed into the bedrock.
Municipal spokesperson, Chantel Edwards-Klose said the
drainage channel will also provide drainage during the construction period in
the event that the site was flooded.
The completed raised dam wall and spillway will
raise the full supply level by 2.5 metres, which will increase the total storage
capacity of the dam by approximately 25%, he said.
The current weir height is 179.94 m with a volume
capacity of about 10 million cubic metres. The new weir height will be 182,5
metres with a storage capacity of approximately 12.5 million cubic metres. The
public was reminded that unauthorised access to the construction site was
strictly prohibited for safety reasons.
Edwards-Klose also made a special appeal to
cyclists to find alternative routes outside the area.
“Heavy vehicles will be using almost all the
plantation and forest roads that cyclists frequent.
Cyclists speeding down mountain paths run the risk
of encountering large vehicles on winding plantation roads and they may not be
able to stop or get out of the way in time if they come upon a truck.
The area is always considered a high-risk site 24 hours, seven days a week. Ongoing safety risk reviews will be carried out and areas will be opened to public access only if it is considered safe for general access.” https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/garden-route-dam-spillway-on-track-for-completion-2019-07-12/rep_id:4136
