Traffic to Keep on Flowing Ahead of the Inaugural Newcastle 500 this Weekend

BY JESSICA ROUSE

With just four days to go until the Newcastle 500, the roads which make up the street circuit are now one way in the race direction.

Team trucks and equipment will start rolling into the CBD from Wednesday to set up ahead of the first practice races on Friday.

Event Manager Kurt Sakzewski said it's important to know where you can and can't drive in the city - among the road changes is Shortland Esplanade which is now re-open in one direction heading east.

"The best way for people coming in the East End is they can come in via King Street if they're going to come into the external parts, anything east of Watt Street, Pacific Street, Scott Street things like that and then as they come back out they'll exit out through Scott Street and then head up either Bolton Street or Wolf Street to get back through the city there," said Kurt.

From Friday (24th November) to Sunday (26th November) the circuit will close off to traffic at 7am in the morning until 7pm at night.

"Anyone who has a car inside we recommend before 6:30, maybe even 6am make your way out to make sure you're outside of the gates because once we hit 7am those gates will be closed off at the exit at Scott Street so it's best that everyone get out,"

"In the afternoons we are saying that by 7pm we will have the gates open again at King Street so people can come back in, whether they live on the circuit or inside the circuit," said Kurt.

Outside of those times pedestrian access to homes, etc. shouldn't be a problem.

For a full list of traffic conditions which can be subject to change head to: http://www.supercars.com/newcastle/community/changed-traffic-conditions/

Two Men Arrested Over Thefts From Cars And Homes In Newcastle East

BY IAN CROUCH

Police have arrested and charged two men over a spate of break-ins in Newcastle East in recent weeks.

The pair are accused of breaking into several cars and homes in Watt Street and Darby Street and stealing items such as clothing and a mountain bike.

Officers arrested a 37-year-old man in Tooke Street, Cooks Hill on Monday afternoon, while a 39-year-old man was arrested on Monday night at a Bar Beach address.

The pair have been refused bail to face Newcastle Local Court today.

Newcastle GP Pleads Not Guilty to Sexual Assault of 46 Women

BY JESSICA ROUSE

A Newcastle immunologist accused of sexually assaulting 46 women has pleaded not guilty.

Dr Jeremy Coleman's trial is underway in Newcastle District Court where he stands accused of assaulting the 46 women at his Watt Street clinic between 1989 and 2013, where he treats skin conditions and allergies.

Newcastle District Court has heard he conducted internal examinations with no medical purpose whatsoever - he would allegedly shift the conversations in his consultation room from allergies and immunology to sex.

His defence barrister Pauline David is disputing any examination was done without a proper medical purpose and claims every time he touched a patient it was solely medical purpose.

The court heard the 64-year-old often didn't wear gloves, watched his victims get undressed, touched them inappropriately and even encouraged some patients to get down on all fours and stick their bottoms in the air so he could inject nasal spray.

Coleman has seen 40,000 patients during his 40 year career and conducted 150,000 consultations.

The trial is expected to last six months.

Image abc.net.au

Delays in Work on Watt Street

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

Major works to Watt Street in Newcastle are being delayed for another fortnight after storm water drains and unexpected substructures were found underneath the road.

Council is currently working to upgrade the city's oldest road and prepare it for the upcoming V8 Supercars Race in November.

Work on Watt Street will continue until mid-September
[Image: Newcastle Herald]

Event Manager for Newcastle 500, Kurt Sakzewski says the complications were discovered last weekend during the digging process.

"We found that once we started digging that there were areas of this upgrade that weren't what we expected and that even included a storm water line that actually rose up higher than expected," he said.

"That's resulted in some additional engineering work that needs to be done and to actually implement that engineering plan, we're going to need a bit more time to do that properly."

The change means plans to re-route bus services from Hunter Street to King Street will be set back until September 10.

However Newcastle Council CEO, Jeremy Bath says the delays will have absolutely no effect on the Supercars Race or the Light Rail Construction.

"The only delay that will come out of Watt Street is the completion of Watt Street resurfacing and that will be two weeks but that will have absolutely no bearing on the start or the finish of the light rail construction. So, while it is a delay for the businesses and residents that live on Watt Street, it's relatively minimal in terms of its impact on the broader community."

The delay follows one of many setbacks in recent months, including a day long power outage in July.

The works have also left a Bottle-O in Newcastle's CBD without a phone connection for 11 days because NBN technicians couldn't access the source of the problem.

Jeremy Bath says he understands if residents are frustrated by the setback but says the work is actually on track to be finished six weeks early.

"Earlier in the year we actually announced some changes in terms of traffic management that brought forward the completion of Watt Street by 8 weeks. Unfortunately, we've had to claw back 2 of those weeks [but] even though we're now going to finish Watt Street 2 weeks later than what we had been hoping to, it's still 6 weeks earlier than what we had been originally planning."

Work is now expected to be complete by mid-September.

Watt Street Delays Puts Hunter Street Bus Relocation Back Two Weeks

BY IAN CROUCH

Plans to relocate buses off Hunter Street, Newcastle to allow for construction of the Light Rail project have been put off for a fortnight due to delays in preparing the city for the Supercars race in November.

Newcastle Transport operator, Keolis Downer has released a statement saying unavoidable delays mean the planned bus relocations which were due to to happen this Sunday, won't go ahead until September 10.

Unexpected water mains and storm water drains which didn't appear on maps of Watt Street have delayed the completion of civil works for another two weeks.

It's a further blow for business owners and CBD residents who've had to put up with major disruptions since work started in mid-July.

Completion Of Watt Street Roadworks Delayed picture: therherald.com.au

Roadworks ramping up in Newcastle

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Construction works in Newcastle are being taken up a gear with night work going through until Wednesday this week.

The work is underway on Watt Street between Chruch and Scott Streets with the removal of asphalt and then the laying of the new road surface to be done through the night.

The noisy removal of asphalt will stop at 11pm.

It's all in preparation for the Newcastle 500, and Supercars Australia says it will be short-term pain for long-term gain with the upgrades set to benefit the city well into the future.

Supercars Event Manager Kurt Sakzewski said some of the underground infrastructure which is being replaced is more than a century old.

In addition, driveway and footpath upgrade works will continue during the day and Supercars Australia says they'll notify affected residents and businesses in advance if any access changes occur.

Supercars bring roadworks to Watt Street

BY MARISSA ALEXIOU

Watt Street traffic will be diverted between Scott Street and Church Street from this Thursday due to proposed construction works.

Working hours will be between Monday to Friday 7am - 5pm and 8am - 1pm on Saturdays.

The works are associated with the Newcastle 500 and Newcastle City Council renewal works occurring across multiple locations in the east end of Newcastle.

Watt Street will remain open for local traffic only, maintained via King Street.

The diversion will enable works including the erection of temporary security fencing, utility relocations, electrical works and pipe laying

Events Manger for Coates Hire Newcastle 500, Kurt Sakzewski said the main bodies of the work will be completed by the end of August.

Traffic control and detour signage will be in place, ensuring the safety of residents, the public and workers.

Road closures across the east end of Newcastle.
 Source: Jarrod Melmeth

Signage, traffic control and detours will ensure safety of residents.
Source: Jarrod Melmeth

The Premier is coming to Newcastle

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Premier Gladys Berejiklian is in Newcastle today to speak with business owners about the state budget and how it will affect them and the whole Hunter region.

The Premier will also no doubt be grilled on the disruption in the city with the Light Rail project and Newcastle 500 preparation underway.

Some business owners on parts of Hunter and Watt Street will be after answers from the Premier with Ausgrid announcing they'll be cutting off power this Saturday for eight hours.

The power is scheduled to be out between 8:30am and 4:30pm so street lights can be replaced in preparation for the V8 race in November.

Businesses are worried about the loss of power during the day, and on a weekend, fearing they will lose a lot of business with electronic EFTPOS payments not able to be put through when there's no power.

Fairfax reports some businesses get more than 80 per cent of their sales through EFTPOS at their store.

Image smh.com.au