Merivale Street Reconstruction to be Finalised

Published on 12 October 2017

Reconstruction work on Merivale Street in Tumut’s CBD will soon be completed with final rehabilitation work and a high quality asphalt seal to commence the week of 26 October.

Snowy Valleys Council’s Director of Infrastructure and Assets Mr Matthew Christensen said that the planned work in October follows on from the intensive reconstruction undertaken on the street between January and April this year.

“Once finished the Merivale Street upgrade will see a big improvement to the road surface of a similar quality to Russell and Fuller Street upgrade, providing improved infrastructure and amenity for the community” said Mr. Matthew Christensen.

“The seal will be an asphalt ‘hot mix’. We’ll be undertaking the preparation works in late October, with the actual seal scheduled for early November, weather permitting,” he said.

The project was undertaken in four stages, with stages one to three being completed earlier in the year, with stage four, being the final rehabilitation work and asphalt seal scheduled for spring.

Mr Christensen is aware of community concerns circulating on social media relating to the deterioration of the current road surface.

“We placed what is termed a ‘primer seal’ on the street in April, to help keep the rain out during the winter months to protect the subsurface. We had always planned on doing the final seal in spring. The weather is more dependable, and the ground temperature needs to be right for the contractors to be able to lay the asphalt,” he said.

“Even though the existing primer seal is showing some wear and tear, it’s done its job. The pavement has settled and compacted nicely over the months, which we’ve needed before the asphalt seal goes down.

Giving the work those extra months to settle reduces the likelihood of future defects, such as cracking, in the final hot mix seal,” he said.

Mr Christensen is advising the community to expect disruptions to normal traffic and parking arrangements during the work period which is set to commence on 26 October and be completed, weather depending, by the middle of November.

These disruptions involve the management of traffic through the area during the construction period, and the continuing access to local businesses and residents during the work.

“There will be changed traffic and parking conditions during the works, where access to businesses and residents will be temporarily affected,” advised Mr Christensen.

Letters detailing the work are being sent to all affected businesses and residents.

The completed project will see a total investment of around $1.3m in transport infrastructure for the town, through joint funding under the Federal Governments Roads to Recovery program and Snowy Valleys Council.

Council remains committed to taking community ideas and suggestions onboard to ensure that the project is a success with minimum delays and disruption.

Feedback and questions from the community regarding this project is encouraged, and can be directed to Mr Matthew Christensen by email at [email protected] or by calling (02) 6941 2555 during  business hours.