Tumbulgum Road section to close for safety improvements
02 February 2017
Work to stabilise cliff and widen road and footpath
Council will close Tumbulgum Road, between Sunnyside Lane and Old Ferry Road, Murwillumbah, on Monday 13 February 2017 to allow the cliff face to be stabilised, the road and footpath widened and stormwater drainage to be upgraded.
Detour signage will be erected on a number of feeder roads advising motorists of the alternate routes around the closed road section. Cyclists and pedestrians will still be allowed through the section, with extra care to be taken.
The six-month project to improve safety for both pedestrians and motorists will start with contractors removing vegetation to allow the cliff face on the northern side of the road to be cut away to be almost vertical (in line with the current indent halfway along near the bench seat), before being stabilised and covered with a decorative natural-looking shotcrete finish.
Planter boxes will be built-in at both the toe and top of the cliff to allow vines to be grown on fixed trainer wires both up and down the face to add a green finish over time. A fence will be built at the top of the cliff to block access to the drop.
On completion of the work at the cliff face in May, Council will move in to upgrade the drainage and stabilise the riverside of the road. It will then reconstruct the roadway and shared user path further north, shifting it at least a metre away from the river.
The riverbank will then be stabilised with either a guardrail or concrete barrier placed on top. The pre-existing riverside footpath will not be reinstated.
The new road will be widened to seven metres wide and the shared user path to 2.5 metres wide. This extra width will significantly reduce the current pinch point in the road, where heavy vehicles often mount the pedestrian kerb to negotiate the bend.
Early last year, the section was placed under both a 14-tonne weight restriction and 40km/h speed limit as the road on the river side was at risk of failing under heavy loads. On the cliff-face side, there has been an ongoing risk of rocks above dislodging and falling, especially during wet weather.
The work will cost about $1.7 million.
Vehicles will be diverted around the worksite via Old Ferry Road and Queen Street. Heavy vehicles travelling to and from Murwillumbah CBD will be encouraged to use Cane Road and Queensland Road, or Tweed Valley Way and Wollumbin Street.
Downloads
Photo 1(JPG, 160KB)
Caption: An indicative artist’s impression of what the cliff face will look like when first finished and over time as the vines grow