Fencing solutions for Echo Point, Katoomba

The Project

In spring 2019 the Blue Mountains City Council began work on significant upgrades to the heavily visited Echo Point lookout at Katoomba. The upgrades will create a more accessible view point for the iconic Three Sisters as well as building a new amphitheatre, accessible boardwalks linking the Information Centre to the area, and installing bollards and CCTV. These upgrades intend to provide an immersive experience for visitors,

This project is funded by the Federal Government’s National Stronger Regions grant program in addition to Council funding.

It is anticipated that the upgrade will be completed by the end of August 2020.

The Challenge

The Aboriginal Place known as Echo Point is of special significance to the Gundungurra and Darug people and is also one of the most visited sites of Aboriginal cultural significance in Australia. With the popular lookout receiving thousands of visitors every day, temporary walkways needed to be created and areas fenced off whilst construction took place.

With construction taking place around the area for nearly 12 months, it was imperative that the Council and the contractors involve provide safe and effective pedestrian walkways and safe perimeter fencing for workers whilst construction changed and progressed.

Pedestrian barriers and temporary fencing was required for the safety of both workers and visitors. Additionally, the visitor centre at the site needed pedestrian barriers to help control the flow of people as a COVID safe precaution.

The Solution

Fortress Fencing was able to assist the contractor with both lightweight crowd control barriers and sturdy temporary fencing for the site.

Fortress orange crowd control barriers which were used around the visitor centre to create a single direction flow of traffic. This was to ensure the centre complied with COVID Safe guidelines.

For the main construction zone, the contractor used Fortress 2000 Series temporary fencing panels to create a safe perimeter for workers and to fence off construction areas from visitors. These strong yet lightweight fence panels are easy to install using concrete fence feet and simple clamps. The fencing provided a safe barrier to block off a suspended walkway that is under construction as well as providing a second layer of safety for workers constructing the lookout close to cliff edges.