Traffic flows again on The Coast Road
Great news for those who commute between Lennox Head and Ballina – The Coast Road has been reopened to traffic.
The Coast Road at Lennox Head had been completely closed to traffic since October this year to allow for the road and foundation to be excavated and rebuilt after a landslide in January 2011.
Council general manager Paul Hickey said: “The road was reduced to one lane but the reconstruction was extensive and we were forced to close it to traffic completely to allow repairs to be carried out.
“The landslide originally occurred due to effects of continuous heavy rain, and a subsequent assessment of the damage revealed a section of the road foundation was very unstable. The location of the road, on the side of a ridge, meant repairing the damage was difficult and expensive.
“The cost of the project for this stage of works is $1.35 million and this was jointly funded by the State and Federal Governments under Natural Disaster Recovery arrangements.”
“I am extremely proud of the effort of the Ballina Shire Engineering Works staff to complete this project ahead of schedule.
“The project was not expected to be finished until mid to late January but staff worked longer days as well as weekends, including some Sundays, to allow the road to be opened earlier than planned.
“We would also like to say thanks to the community for their patience and understanding in respect to this project, as we understand that the diversion through North Creek Road impacted on the amenity of some residents and travel times for commuters.”
The reconstruction of The Coast Road at Lennox Point required the removal of the original road embankment. This resulted in a 10m deep excavation beneath the original road and the removal of approximately 14,000 cubic metres of material.
This was replaced with 8500 tonnes of rock foundation and 10,000 cubic metres of fill for the rebuilding of the road embankment.
Council has provided its own funding to match RTA grant funding for the reconstruction of the road pavement section of The Coast Road north of the landslide, with this work to be completed in early 2012.
