New $450,000 wharf at Yeend Street, Mort Bay

by Neil Patchett on 14 Mar 2011 NSW Maritime Chief Executive Steve Dunn today announced Sydney Marina Contracting Pty Ltd as the winning tenderer for the construction of the new $450,000 Yeend Street Wharf, Birchgrove.

Mr Dunn said detailed design work on the wharf - at the end of Yeend Street, Birchgrove, and next to the recently opened Ballast Point Park - began in March, with work on site expected to begin in April.

'The new wharf is scheduled for completion in July,' Mr Dunn said. 'The structure will be a U-shaped pontoon, to cater for up to three vessels up to 15 metres in length. It will provide boat owners with drop off and pick up access to Ballast Point Park, a launching point for kayaks and canoes, as well as a water-taxi landing.

'Day trippers will be able to travel across the Harbour and tie up to the Yeend Street Wharf to visit Ballast Point Park.'

Mr Dunn said the need for a day-berth facility was identified in the Ballast Point Park Master Plan.

Boat Owners’ Association (NSW) President Michael Chapman applauded news of construction of the new wharf.

'There just aren’t enough public access points for boat owners on Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River. Structures like this are desperately needed,' Mr Chapman said.

The previous wharf at the same location was closed to the public by Leichhardt Council in 1991 due to its unsafe condition.

For more information on the wharf program, go to www.maritime.nsw.gov.au