The Elliott Way from Cabramurra to near Ohare's Campground continues to be impacted by landslides and will not reopen anytime soon.
The Elliott Way has remained closed after a landslip in August 2022 restricting through traffic from Cabramurra to Tumbarumba. The road is closed near O'hares Campground on the Tumbarumba side and close to Cabramurra.
Works have been on going and it was expected to receive the all clear until more rock falls delayed any opening. Now it seems the ground is very unstable above the road, with large boulders unstable and the road expected to remain closed until possibly May 2023.
In a statement on January 25 the National Parks and Wildlife Service said efforts are continuing to rectify the landslip site on Elliott Way.
"In short, the most recent geotechnical inspections concluded that it is not as simple as first thought to make the site safe for access to allow longer term works to start," said a NPWS spokesperson.
"The large boulders that pose a risk above the site cannot simply be removed. We are urgently progressing a recently received proposal for the ‘make safe’ works which at this stage are likely to commence in early February 2023. These works have a cost estimate of $1.7M and have an expected timeframe to complete the work of 10-14 weeks."
Background of road closure
• On 14 August 2022 there was a significant rock fall event in a road cutting at chainage 36500m on Elliott Way. The rockfall made the road impassable.
• At the collapse site, the road formation comprises a steep cutting on the one side of the road and a steep fill embankment down to the Tumut River on the other side.
• NPWS contractors undertook to clear the site and conduct slope clearing and scaling activities to remove all loose debris and material from the slope and roadway. More than 2,500 tonnes of material was removed, including large boulders weighing up to 180 tonnes.
• A geotechnical consultant was engaged to conduct risk assessments, initial investigations and provide preliminary advice with regard to stabilisation and repair methods.
• By 18 September 2022, the entire slope was scaled and all debris was removed. Pavement sealing was completed with the installation of concrete safety barriers and fencing completed for a schedule opening of a single lane of the roadway to the public on 30 September 2022.
• On 29 September 2022 another significant release of material occurred, destroying several recently installed concrete barriers, subsequently preventing the opening of the road, due to the danger and uncertainty of the rock falls.
• Since this time there is continuing movement of material on the slope. The site remains closed due to the inherent instability of the slope, the unpredictability of the slope releasing large boulders, the increasing height of the crest with every subsequent release of material and the presence of large boulders above the crest. The site remains too dangerous to access from the road and the crest is out of reach.
• Geotechnical and rope access industries are currently in extremely high demand due to the large number of slope failures across the eastern seaboard over the last 18 months. NPWS has spent since September attempting to find appropriate companies.
Current status
• After contacting many companies, NPWS was able to find two independent geotechnical companies that could be contracted to inspect the site with one attending just prior to the Christmas break and the second attending site early in the New Year.
• The first company inspected the site in December 2022 advised that they were not prepared to take on the work due to current commitments and the high risk nature of the site.
• In early January 2023 a Queensland based company attended site to inspect the slip and to conduct anchor testing at various locations near the slip which will assist the geotechnical consultant to formulate the long term solution.
• Following the inspection, the company provided a proposal to undertake ‘make safe’ works that will provide sufficient stability to allow the site to be accessed for long term works.
• The proposal is to establish a safe working platform above the slip site using rope access techniques. The platform would comprise two catch fences and steel mesh held in place by ground anchors. This platform will then facilitate scaling and debris removal from the crest. The work would progress down slope, progressively drilling, meshing and scaling using manual labour. Heavy equipment would be delivered by helicopter. The large boulders will be either secured or removed. The work will continue down slope until such time that the risk of rockfall is such that the site can be accessed from the roadway.
• These works are scheduled to commence in the oncoming weeks and have a cost estimate of $1.7M and a conservatively estimated timeframe of 10-14 weeks to complete.
• Part of the make safe works would involve the installation of large barriers to facilitate secure access to and through the site. This would allow the road (single lane) to be safely open to the public. Based on these timeframes it is hoped this would occur by or during April 2023. If site conditions are found to be favourable this time frame may decrease but this wont be known until work is underway.
• These make safe works will form a component of the overall long term design solution which is progressing. It is anticipated the long term solution can be implemented without the need for future long term road closures to ensure continued public access along the Elliott Way.
"I would like to reiterate that NPWS understands the importance of having this road open to the local communities and is endeavouring to ensure this can occur as soon as possible, said the spokesperson for NPWS.
You can view the road closure here on Live Traffic if you zoom into the area.