Pictured on Wednesday last week, Naylor Love construction staff pump concrete into a plinth for a steel portal which will support the structure for the indoor pools. In the foreground is the ‘start’ of a new 25m pool.
Construction of the new Cambridge Pool complex remains on target for completion mid next year, says Waipa District Council.
The total budget for the project – which includes junior, toddler and hydrotherapy pools, a splash pad, an upgrade to the 50m outdoor pool and a new 10-lane 25m pool – remains at $20.7M.
The old 1971 pool complex closed for construction at the end of February 2018, and was largely demolished within three months. Construction of the new complex began in June of last year.
Over the past few months contractors have prepared the site for major construction and completed the earthworks, excavation and retaining of the site. They’ve finished installing underground services like stormwater and wastewater, and completed pipework and plumbing for the pools, ground and floor preparation for the indoor pools and reinforced steel work.
Contractors have since started pouring concrete for the indoor pools and electrical ducting work has begun.
More work is still to be done on underground services, pool services and installation of the pool structures and tanks.
When Cambridge News reported in April that a new 25m, 10-lane lap pool had arrived on site from America for installation, some readers expressed concern that Council hadn’t used local pool providers.
In response, Lorraine Kendrick, project delivery manager, said Council had done a detailed assessment of the different types of pool tanks available, taking into account ongoing operational costs as well as initial construction costs, and decided to construct two of the pools from concrete – the toddler and hydrotherapy/learn to swim pools – and have the main 25m supplied by Natare NZ, which shipped the pool from America.
That option, Kendrick said, has a number of benefits not only for construction but also for ongoing operating systems like filtration and drainage.
More information on the Cambridge Pool project can be found here.
