The National Capital Authority (NCA) has announced that the Captain Cook Memorial Jet on Lake Burley Griffin, near Commonwealth Avenue Bridge, is in need of repair and will be closed down for the next few months.
Chief Operating Officer at the NCA, Lachlan Wood said the past few months had seen the Jet experiencing technical difficulties and staff and contractors had been working hard to limit the downtime.
“However, manual operation has now become impractical,” Mr Wood said.
“To try to mitigate delays the NCA have brought forward a program of scheduled maintenance works to the Jet’s infrastructure to coincide with the repair works.”
He said completing the required repairs and maintenance works to the Jet whist it was not operating would create efficiencies and minimise the overall down-time.
“Phase one of the project will see the refurbishment of the flow control valve located within the pump-station, with parts due to arrive from England within the coming weeks,” Mr Wood said.
“Following the completion of phase one, it is expected that the Jet will operate intermittently to allow for the testing and commissioning of the refurbished control valve.”
He said phase two would involve scheduled maintenance, including the fitting of a new access system to the Jet’s outlet structure, ensuring safe access to it.
“The Jet is expected to be operational by mid-year, when it will return to being run from 11am to 2pm daily,” Mr Wood said.
“It is a complex piece of infrastructure, which requires ongoing repairs and maintenance to ensure it remains as one of Canberra’s landmark attractions,” he said.
