Susanna Freymark
It’s nearly there – Naughtons Gap Road should be open by Christmas.
And what a Christmas present that will be for residents.
Richmond Valley Council general manager Vaughan Macdonald said progress on Naughtons Gap Road was going well.
“The final bore pile was poured last Friday (September 20) and the capping beam is underway,” Mr Macdonald said.
“Our aim is to have the road open by Christmas, weather permitting of course.”
A video posted on the council’s Facebook page on September 16 shows the work underway.
We’ve published stills from that video in this story.
Some of the latest progress includes contractors pouring concrete for the first of the pile capping beams which will anchor the reformed road base.
More than 130 of the 152 bore piles have been completed, with the remainder expected to be finished in the coming weeks.
The catch fencing on the uphill cutting at the eastern side of the project has been completed, and pavement construction is expected to begin next month.
It’s been more than three years that Naughtons Gap has been under repair.
It was the flood in March 2021 when it was initially closed as a section of the road cracked and started to slip down the hill.
“We were about to commence a rebuild in March 2022 without doing any of the drainage and bore pile work that is now being done, and then the February/March 2022 floods hit and the road slipped further down the hill,” Mr Macdonald said.
“Thankfully, we didn’t waste that taxpayer money. Anyone who has been near the site or watched our video updates will appreciate the Geotech and design work that has gone into fixing this road properly.
“We’ve also had to work through government processes to secure about $15million of federal and state government funds, as the ratepayer could not afford to fix this road. Regionally there are many landslips like this where work has not even started.”
When the road is open again, wouldn’t it be good to have a walk-through? Especially for the residents who have been impacted by the road closure.
and then