Susanna Freymark
Halstead Drive in Casino has been a popular road as one of the few ways to access Richmond River.
The access road that goes under Irving Bridge was severely damaged in the February 2022 flood and has been closed since then.
Halstead Drive is on NSW Crown land.
The council has been negotiating with Crown lands to increase the budget for Halstead Drive as the 2022 budget was no longer enough to cover the repairs.
In May, an additional $980,000 from Crown lands enabled Richmond Valley Council to make a tender for concreting.
At the Richmond Valley Council meeting on August 19 it was announced Northern Rivers Concreting would do the concerting with some design changes.
The main change is to the retainer wall design being a scour rock wall which is more cost effective and a simpler solution to the original proposed bulk rock embankment protecting a piered concrete footing.
Sometimes called rock armour, the scour wall is a protective barrier made of large rocks and wire baskets filled with rocks to control erosion by spreading the energy of flowing water. This aims to prevent soil and sediment around the road structure being washed away by floodwaters.
Mayor Robert Mustow said Halstead Drive was a much loved asset in Casino
The total budget for the repair of Halstead Drive is $1,992,500.