After months of tireless work in challenging conditions, significant progress is being made on roads devastated by last year’s natural disasters in Kangaroo Valley and surrounds.
Since April this year, 10 out of the 38 major landslips of the reconstruction project have been repaired on the 15 roads impacted.
Beorn Hulme, Natural Disasters Project Manager, said substantial headway was now evident in the ongoing efforts to restore vital road infrastructure.
“Last year’s natural disasters caused extensive damage to our region’s road network, disrupting daily life and isolating many communities,” said Mr Hulme.
“The scale of the devastation has certainly delivered many logistical and engineering challenges, but site by site, the hard work is starting to pay off,” he said.
“The safety of our staff, contractor and the community has always come first, so it’s rewarding to see this progress being made while never compromising on safety.”
Roads now completely remediated include Abernethys Road in Budgong, Bamarang Road in Bamarang and Suffolk Road in Tomerong.
A number of landslips have also been completed along Burrier Road, Burrier; Upper Kangaroo River Road, Upper Kangaroo River; Bunkers Hill, Barrengarry and Wottamolla Road, Woodhill.
Crews were currently working on nine of the 15 impacted roads, with vital drilling and pile-driving equipment re-deployed to new sites as works are completed.
Techniques to remediate landslip sites have included:
- Slope reinforcement (using soil nails and shotcrete to provide additional stability to soil)
- Gabion baskets or concrete Massbloc (providing retaining walls to support soil on steep slopes)
- Slope re-grading (cutting back into the slope or adding fill material to create a more stable gradient)
- Reinforced concrete piers connected with concrete capping beams
- Micro piling (similar to soil nails but installed vertically).
Remediation works will continue throughout 2024, with fortnightly community drop-in sessions held in Kangaroo Valley to provide regular progress updates for residents and business.
