The raising of the Garden Route Dam spillway and wall commenced in May 2019 and is on program to be completed within the 10 months construction program. Concrete for the first two sections of the spillway wall footing has been placed. For the next month heavy vehicles will regularly be delivering concrete and reinforcing and residents in the area are requested to be alert and take care.
The raising of the dam wall is progressing steadily with approximately 10 000 m3 of suitable fill material extracted from the dam basin on the MTO Forestry/ Nelson Mandela University side of the dam having been placed. The Contractor should reach the final embankment wall height within the next two weeks after which the “rip-rap” layer will be placed.
The final curtain grouting operation will start two weeks after the wall footings have been cast. Most of the wall footing ground anchors have been grouted in, with only the stilling basin anchors to be placed after completion of the wall footings. An approximate 54 tons of reinforcement will be used in the spillway footings alone.
The public is reminded that unauthorised access to the construction site is strictly prohibited to ensure the safety of the public. The Municipality has commenced with a series of controlled burns to clear certain areas that pose a fire risk and the alien clearing operation is awaiting its official go-ahead.
Heavy construction vehicles are operating on both the MTO Forestry/ Nelson Mandela University and George sides of the dam wall. The required signage is in place to warn the public that the area is a construction site and only authorised persons are permitted to access this area wearing the correct safety clothing.
The Municipality sincerely thanks its residents for adhering to the restrictions as this allows construction to continue without undue interruption and additional safety risks. All enquiries must please be referred to the Municipality for comment and feedback to Gvanniekerk@george.gov.za