Work is under way on the city’s footpaths

25 August 2017

An extra concrete crew will be employed by Orange City Council to complete its record footpath upgrade and construction program.

Work is under way on the $1.4 million, four year project as the first asphalt footpath is ripped up and replaced with a concrete path in Lords Place.

Orange City Council’s Works Manager Wayne Gailey said the Lords Place footpath, alongside Wade Park was a good example of where Orange’s street trees had affected the footpath.

“It’s a balancing act we face when it comes to maintaining the trees and the footpaths, which is one of the reasons we are replacing the asphalt footpaths with concrete,” Mr Gailey said.

“The concrete footpaths are more expensive than hot mix asphalt but they have a much longer life-span, are more easily maintained and will handle the pressure from tree roots better.

“We’re using technology, which allows each slab of concrete path to move with the growing tree roots over time.

“A hinge is placed between the slabs which allows each to move to an extent with the tree roots, reducing the chance of cracks and trip edges forming.”

Orange City Council published its program of footpaths on the Your Say Orange website and residents can easily look up when footpaths will be upgraded

The list also includes several new footpaths to be built, including several requests from the public which were submitted during the budget public consultation period earlier this year.

The residents of north Orange will be receiving several new footpaths in the coming years and an extra crew will be employed to get the job done.