PROGRESS is being made on the short-term solutions for both the opening of Waterfall Way and the upgrade of Summervilles Road, with recent significant announcements from both state and federal governments.
The state government, through Transport for NSW, recently announced that access to Waterfall Way will be restored to a controlled one lane access in April.
In addition, the federal government has just announced funding to partial upgrades of Summervilles Road including two bridge replacements and sealing three kilometres of currently unsealed road.
Bellingen Shire Council General Manager Mark Griffioen said there will be a staged approach to these projects.
“Work on the upgrade to Summervilles Road will begin when Waterfall Way is restored to one lane, which is currently planned to be completed as per Transport for NSW’s announcement in March,” said Mr Griffioen.
“The timeframe provided will be dependent on weather.
“Once Waterfall Way is open, the upgrade of this first section of Summervilles Road can begin, with three kilometres of the existing unsealed road to be rehabilitated and sealed with bitumen.
“During this time, the planning and design process for the replacement of Summervilles Creek bridge and Summervilles bridge can also get underway.
“When the upgrade to Summervilles Road has been sufficiently progressed, Waterfall Way will be closed again to enable a long-term solution to the landslip site to be implemented.
“Once Waterfall Way is re-opened, the two new bridges on Summervilles Road can then be constructed.”
In another significant announcement, state and federal governments have issued a natural disaster declaration for Bellingen Shire.
The declaration confirms the commitment to funding the rehabilitation of Waterfall way and activates disaster recovery support for the community, including low-interest loans, freight and transport assistance for businesses and primary producers, and grants and concessional loans for community and sporting organisations.
Bellingen Shire Council Mayor Steve Allan said that while these announcements are very welcome, the larger projects of a complete upgrade of Summervilles Road and full corridor assessment of Waterfall Way and surrounding routes still need to be planned, funded and implemented.
“Although it does mean more weeks of waiting for our community, having a time frame for the partial reopening of Waterfall Way and the funding approved for a partial upgrade for Summervilles Road is a good start,” said Mayor Allan.
“The disaster declaration is very welcome news and something Council has been advocating strongly for with both State and Federal Governments.
“We will maintain the pressure on all levels of government to keep this project top of mind until a long-term solution for Waterfall Way is in place, as well as a further commitment for the upgrade of the Summervilles Road detour.”
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