Final truckload of NorthConnex dirt tipped into Hornsby Quarry
The rehabilitation of Hornsby Quarry passed a major milestone over the weekend, with delivery of the last truckload of spoil from the NorthConnex tunnel project.
Hornsby Shire Mayor Philip Ruddock was on hand to watch the final deliveries.
“This is an important day, bringing us a big step closer to achieving our dream of creating the Centennial Park of the north,” Mayor Ruddock said.
“It’s amazing to see how much the quarry has transformed over such a short period of time.
“It took almost a century to dig it all out but little more than 18 months for us to fill a major part of it in again.”
More than one million cubic metres of clean fill have been tipped into the quarry, the equivalent of 450 Olympic swimming pools.
“This has been an enormous job and we are very grateful to NorthConnex for the skilled and efficient manner in which they have carried it out,” Mayor Ruddock said.
“The residents of Hornsby Shire are going to emerge from this process as double winners, with a new 50-hectare recreational space and a tunnel that will remove much of the traffic from Pennant Hills Road.”
NorthConnex will now spend a few months removing their equipment from the site and carrying out remediation works, including the resurfacing of Bridge Road between Roper Lane and Peats Ferry Road.
They will hand the keys to the site back to Hornsby Shire Council in the middle of the year.
Council’s plans for the next stage of the rehabilitation are well-advanced, with a development application for the required earthworks soon to be submitted.
This will determine the general shape of the park to be created and will be placed on public exhibition before being approved.
“Council is committed to seeking detailed input from the public, to make this a park that is designed by the community,” Mayor Ruddock said.
“This is going to be the centrepiece of our recreational facilities for generations to come and we are determined to get it right.”
There will be further public consultation as the project continues, up to its anticipated completion date in 2023.
Mayor Ruddock thanked the residents who have been impacted by the movement of trucks to the quarry.
“We are well aware that some people have experienced disruption and we are very grateful for their patience,” he said.
“We are determined to ensure that the benefits of this project vastly outweigh the inconveniences.”
IMAGES: Mayor Ruddock in the last truck to deliver fill to Hornsby Quarry from the NorthConnex tunnel.
