Artarmon to Mosman cable project

Ausgrid’s Mosman zone substation is currently supplied by one 132, 000 Volt cable from the Willoughby substation, and a further two 132, 000 Volt cables from the Castle Cove zone substation in Chatswood.

These cables are more than 45 years old and are now approaching the end of their service life. They have been subject to failures in recent years and need to be replaced to maintain a safe and reliable power supply to customers.

In addition, Ausgrid is in the process of retiring all cables of this type from its network.

Ausgrid is responsible for assessing and approving works under the Artarmon to Mosman cable project. This process includes preparation of an environmental assessment (Review of Environmental Factors or REF). The REF includes a range of specialist studies and input from the community, councils and other authorities. The REF was on exhibition for comment from Friday 7 September 2018 to Friday 28 September 2018. Ausgrid considered all submissions as part of the process of assessing the project for construction approval.

The project is now approved for construction and the final REF can be viewed in the 'Review of Environmental Factors' section below.

Artarmon to Mosman Cable Project Review of Environmental Factors (REF) Report

Appendices 

Appendix A - Drawings and Plans

Appendix B - Consultation Documentation

Appendix C - Magnetic Field Assessment

Appendix D - Construction Noise and Vibration Management Plan

Appendix E - Qualitative Noise Assessment

Appendix F - Geotechnical Investigation

Appendix G - Arboricultural Impact Assessment

Appendix H - Heritage Impact Assessment

REF Determination Report

This project will involve installing the new 132,000 Volt cable between our Willoughby substation in Campbell Street, Artarmon and our Mosman substation in Harbour Street, Mosman.
As with any construction work, there will be some noise and dust, and temporary traffic, access and parking disruptions, but we will make every effort to keep these to a minimum.
View an information graphic showing the different stages of cable laying.
Work to install the new cables will generally include:

• digging trenches in roads to lay conduits (plastic pipes) to accommodate the new cables
• backfilling trenches and temporary resurfacing of impacted areas (trenching and temporary resurfacing takes about three days outside each property depending on ground and weather conditions)
• excavating underground joint bays at various locations along the cable route
• feeding in and joining sections of cable at the joint bay locations permanently restoring impacted areas, in consultation with the relevant Council once the overall project is complete.

Work to retire the existing 132,000 Volt cables will involve:

Excavating existing joint bays along the cable route

Removing cable equipment

Disconnecting the cables.

Construction work in the Cammeray Golf Course will start soon and will be completed in three stages. It will involve a combination of trenching and Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) to underbore a section of the route followed by the restoration of the impacted areas. HDD allows conduits (plastic pipes which house the cables) to be installed along a prescribed path from the surface with minimal impact on the surrounding environment.

The first stage will involve the HDD work, which is expected to start from Wednesday, 15 May and continue for three weeks. Trenching to install underground conduits will start after the HDD work is finished. This work will be progressively completed in stages over four to five weeks, weather and technical requirements permitting.

There will be some temporary impacts to the golf course while the construction work is in progress. Please refer to the key dates listed below for details of the work planned at the golf course.

A section of the cable route passes through Westbourne Street and Reserve Road close to the Royal North Shore Hospital. Trenching to install underground conduits in the hospital precinct is expected to start from Monday 20 May 2019 and take approximately four weeks to complete, weather and technical requirements permitting.

Work will be completed progressively starting from the intersection of Hebert Street and Westbourne Street moving along Reserve Road. Depending on ground conditions, around 15 - 20 metres of trenching will be completed each day.

There will be some temporary impacts to traffic on Westbourne Street and Reserve Road while the construction work is in progress. A section of the traffic lane will be closed, but we will maintain two way traffic flows, where possible. Our contractors will use traffic management crews to guide road users and pedestrians safely around the work areas.

A section of the carpark on Reserve Road, between Federick Street and Reserve Road, may be temporarily closed for a week while the work is in progress.

 

Ausgrid started engaging with key stakeholders, such as North Sydney Council, Mosman Council, Willoughby Council and Royal North Shore Hospital, earlier this year to obtain feedback on the replacement cable route.

Engagement with residents and businesses along and around the replacement cable route started in March 2018 when the first project newsletter was distributed. A copy of the newsletter can be found at the bottom of this page.

On 27 March and 12 April 2018, Ausgrid held two community information sessions at the Cammeray Golf Club and The College of Law in St Leonards to seek local information and community feedback on the replacement cable route. Interested community members were invited to attend the sessions directly through the newsletter, an advertisement in local newspapers and social media.

At the sessions, members of the project team gave a short presentation on why the project is needed and what to expect during construction.

In September 2018, another community information session was held and community feedback on the REF was sought. Once again, this session was advertised in local newspapers and a project newsletter was distributed to over 12,000 residents and businesses along and near the preferred cable route.

Ausgrid has taken feedback received from the community and key stakeholders into consideration in finalising the project.

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback, including most recently on the REF, which was on public exhibition from 7 to 28 September 2018.

We received a total of 10 submissions during the REF exhibition period. The main areas of community interest were around route selection, electric and magnetic fields (EMF) and construction impacts.

All submissions were considered and addressed in the final REF. A report summarising all the feedback received from the community and key stakeholders during the REF exhibition period is now available, along with the final REF (see above under ‘Review of Environmental Factors (REF))’.

We will continue to engage with the community and stakeholders during construction. Ausgrid welcomes questions or comments about the project at any time.