Wondalga Road Stabilisation Work To Commence in Late October
Published on 12 October 2017
After significant delays work will commence on the weather damaged Wondalga Road in late October, with Council awarding the tender for the work at its September meeting.
Director of Infrastructure and Assets, Matthew Christensen has apologised for the inconvenience that the extended road closure has caused.
“We recognise the inconvenience that this partial road closure has caused for road users and local residents, and I apologise for the extended delay,” he said.
During the heavy rain event in October 2016, a portion of the local road fell away, with Council affecting an immediate partial road closure around the damaged section reducing the traffic flow to just one lane.
“The geotechnical investigation has revealed a much larger problem than was first identified. A large section of the road on either side of the slippage is also unstable and will also need to be reconstructed,” he said.
The additional stabilisation work has blown out the initial cost estimates for the project, and what was first thought to be a simple reconstruction project has had to be externally tendered.
“The new cost estimates for the project are now in the vicinity of $500,000. The tender for the work was awarded to PCA, who have assured us that they are able to start the work at the end of this month,” Mr Christensen said.
Mr Christensen anticipates that the project will take around six weeks to complete, and advises that road users can expect disruptions to traffic as the work progresses.
“At this stage we’re planning on using localised traffic control on the work site, however we haven’t ruled out a complete road closure. If the contractor can get the work done faster with the road closed, then we’ll need to look at that option. We will, of course, keep residents and road users informed,” he said.
The restabilisation work on the Wondalga Road will be funded through the National Disaster Recovery and Restoration Assistance Program, a federally funded program that is administered by the State Government.
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.