Council Considers Kellerberrin Townsite Design Options

A component of the ALine East Project is to upgrade the Highway through the Kellerberrin Townsite.  The Kellerberrin community believes this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enhance the streetscape and re-vitalise town economy.

Preliminary designs, prepared by ALine East are being considered by the Kellerberrin Shire Council.

One design realigns the highway away from the businesses by creating a median strip in the centre of the highway and over the Goldfields Water Pipeline.  In this option many trees in the car park will be removed and the toilet block demolished and rebuilt.

The second option retains the highway in much the same location with the pipeline remaining adjacent to the northern kerbline.  Road widening is achieved by eliminating parking along the north side of the highway.  The highway will move marginally away from the businesses, trees will be retained in the existing carpark and further landscape works will improve the amenity.

Both design options achieve safety requirements and can accommodate high wide loads.

The design team have been restrained because the highway is located over the buried section of the Goldfields Water Pipeline currently situated under the northern kerbline.  Site survey has confirmed coverage is only 0.35m - 0.45m.

The Goldfields Water Pipeline alignment with minimal cover poses severe limitations because:

• It fixes the level of the highway and forces use of a one-way crossfall towards the southern edge of the highway towards shops and buildings. The Kellerberrin townsite has been subjected to flooding and deficient drainage for many years and one of ALine East's main aims is to rectify a flooding problem.
• The cement lined steel pipeline will be subjected to loads and vibrations from heavy haulage traffic.  ALine East understands vibration can compromise the durability of the pipeline and has proposed a median island over the pipeline.  Median openings, though unlikely to carry full highway load, further expose the pipeline to traffic load and vibration.
• Future pipeline replacement or maintenance will be restricted in one design option because the pipeline will be located centrally on a heavily trafficked section of a strategic transport link between WA and the eastern states.

Kellerberrin Shire Council is disappointed enhancement of their main street is likely to be compromised by constraints imposed by the location of the Goldfields Pipeline.

Water Corporation's Northam office has advised it us unwilling to bring forward its refurbishment programme to coincide with the highway upgrade.

The Council has asked and will support ALine East examine and pursue all options available to achieve the realignment of the pipeline and thus remove the impediment preventing a successful upgrade of the townsite.