Long delays on Kennedy
24 October 2016
Worse to come - bridge repair on Wednesday will close one lane
Motorists are again strongly advised to avoid Kennedy Drive, Tweed Heads West, during the next two weeks as the road is reconstructed.
Road reconstruction began today and will last another nine working days (to end of Monday 7 November) as the final task in this five-year, $9 million project to upgrade this major arterial road.
But, the congestion of today is set to worsen on Wednesday (26 October) as the southern lane of the bridge across Cobaki Creek will be closed to allow the eastern approach to be repaired. This closure will occur between 10am and 2pm to minimise the impact on peak-hour traffic.
Today, Day One of road reconstruction, saw the construction site between the bridge and Limosa Road ramp up on schedule at 7am, with trucks and heavy machinery occupying the southern lanes and taking priority over all other traffic on Kennedy Drive.
The first short section of road was excavated and removed in the morning, with the deep-lift asphalt applied in the afternoon. All up, 440 tonne of asphalt was applied at a temperature of 180deg Celsius.
This schedule will be repeated tomorrow on a shorter stretch of road, with a target of 330 tonne of asphalt to be applied.
It is expected the final wearing surface will be applied on the last day of reconstruction, Monday 7 November, weather permitting.
Traffic delays were monitored today, with eastbound vehicles timed at 30 minutes to drive from the Panorama Plaza shops to Limosa Road at 8.30am. By 2.30pm, the eastbound flow was down to 13 minutes. But by 3.30pm, peak-hour traffic had begun early and wait times increased substantially.
During the afternoon peak, westbound traffic was moving very slowly taking 20 minutes to travel just over a kilometre. At this time, traffic management was obliged to give westbound traffic priority to ensure no tailbacks on the high-speed Pacific Motorway.
“Despite the delays today, motorists are being very tolerant and courteous,” said Council Construction Engineer Bob Hanby. “They understand there is no easy alternative when it comes to Kennedy Drive.
“Our advice remains: the only way to avoid congestion is travel early and get through before 7 in the morning or go via Bilambil and Terranora roads. And, from today’s lessons, the afternoon peak is starting early and motorists should consider going the alternate route regardless of the time of day.”
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Caption: Workers applyied 440 tonne of deep-lift asphalt on the first section of Kennedy Drive to be reconstructed.