Ballarat's council says weather is to blame for another delay to the opening a major public car park, but it should be finished by the end of the month.
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The creation of 300 paid off-street car parks at 122 Creswick Road is expected to be completed by the end of July, according to City of Ballarat, after a "prolonged weather delay and other commitments" of the contractors.
City of Ballarat's director of infrastructure and environment Terry Demeo admitted there was an additional cost to project - originally forecast at $600,000 - due to the weather problems.
"The cost has been managed through the process with weather delays not impacting significantly on the City of Ballarat's costs," he said. "However given the delay in the operational dates for the car park it has impacted on the City of Ballarat's income stream with respect to fees paid by those using the facility."
When construction first began mid-last year, the car park was expected to be completed September 2018. The opening date has since been pushed back multiple times, with 'soil problems' motivating a delay in March this year.
Works which will take place over the next two weeks at the Creswick Road site include excavation, laying and trimming of rocks and the final asphalt layer, line marking, boom gate installation, fencing and signage.
A service road for the car park on Holmes Street will get new entrances and exits.
The $600,000 for 300 new off-street spaces was partly-funded by a state government contribution of $2 million to council, in order to create 1,000 new car spaces in Ballarat CBD. The funding was to rectify the loss of car parks and imminent influx of public servants with the Civic Hall GovHub redevelopment.
Council's lease on the land remains for just three years, meaning Ballarat could lose the 300 parks in 2021. Construction of GovHub is expected to be complete in 2021, however staff will enter gradually.
After demolishing the multi-level public car park on Armstrong Street, the five-storey GovHub building will include 220 underground car spots, of which most have been set aside for tenants. City of Ballarat previously told The Courier they were hopeful for an "element" of public parking.
Another car park announced by council - the creation of 140 free off-street car parks at Eastern Oval - has been out to tender, with responses now being reviewed.
Timelines for the Eastern Oval project have also been pushed back. In February this year, as part of its Smarter Parking Plan, City of Ballarat said the formalisation project would be completed by the end of June.