Source: Tweed Shire Council media release.
The road running to Tyalgum, known
affectionately by locals as ‘The Crack’, has been fully restored, allowing
double lane access to Tyalgum village for the first time since the 2022
floods.
In February 2022, the biggest recorded floods in the Tweed’s history caused
major devastation to Tyalgum Road resulting in a landslip more than 100m wide
and 60m deep.
This meant the main arterial road between Tyalgum and Murwillumbah was
unpassable, forcing residents and visitors to take a longer alternative route
via Chillingham.
Tweed Shire Council, working with Transport for NSW, engaged contractor SEE
Civil to restore the road and in March 2023 work started on ‘The Crack’. Now,
more than 2 years later, the $24 million project is complete.
Mayor of Tweed, Chris Cherry said that Tyalgum Road has been one of the
major roadworks for Council since the 2022 floods and she was delighted it was
finished.
“Thanks to all the staff at Tweed Shire Council and SEE Civil who worked on
this complicated project. Their teamwork and dedication have delivered an
outcome which will benefit not only the village of Tyalgum, but the Tweed
community for many years to come.
“I would also like to sincerely thank the Tyalgum community for their patience
and understanding. We know that it’s been difficult at times but we hope that
this safer road will be worth the wait!” Cr Cherry said.
Funded by the Australian and NSW Governments through the Disaster Recovery
Funding Arrangements, the size and scope of the work presented challenges for
engineers and designers. They were also thwarted by weather conditions, which
were anything but favourable at times.
The project was completed in several phases.
One of the key priorities when work began was to stabilise the extreme slip
site. This, in itself, was no easy task. It required the use of some very
heavy machinery – with a 70 tonne crane working in tandem with a huge piling
machine which would eventually see the installation of 130 concrete piles
driven 15 metres into the earth.
Once this was done, a temporary access route was established in October 2023
for Tyalgum residents and businesses which reduced the need to take the long
way around to Murwillumbah via Chillingham.
However, this track was subject to the weather, forcing the installation of
automatic gates which would close if rainfall exceeded the amount determined by
engineering experts.
As the road was completed, an additional 130 pile tieback anchors were bored
into the bank and 3300 tonnes of rock were brought in to fill 197 gabion
baskets that were locked together to ensure the restored road will endure for
years to come.
There was also a strong Tweed presence on the project – 90% of the SEE Civil
employees were residents of the Tweed Shire including supervisors, engineers,
project managers and machine operators.
Quotes attributable to Federal Minister for Emergency Management Kristy
McBain:
“Tyalgum has faced a long road to recovery since the 2022 floods, and
reconnecting the community marks a major milestone for locals who’ve been doing
it tough,” Minister McBain said.
“Disaster recovery isn’t just about rebuilding roads, it’s about restoring the vital lifelines that connect people to each other and to services.
“Since day one, we’ve been working alongside communities like Tyalgum to not just recover but to rebuild stronger and be better prepared for future disasters.
“This is what disaster recovery
funding is all about. Real outcomes that make a real difference in people’s
lives, especially in regional communities.”
Quotes attributable to Justine Elliot MP:
“As your local MP I’m proud to be delivering $24 million in joint funding from
the Federal and NSW Labor Governments towards the rebuilding of Tyalgum Road,”
Justine said.
“The Albanese Labor Government is helping the North Coast build back better, by repairing damaged infrastructure and roads while also making sure the region is more prepared for severe weather events in the future.
“The completion of this project is
yet another example of us delivering more resilient roads and reconnects the
Tyalgum community with double lane access on Tyalgum Road.”
Quotes attributable to Minster for Recovery and Minister for the North Coast
Janelle Saffin MP:
“This is great news for the people of Tyalgum and Murwillumbah, because we
haven’t just rebuilt the same road. We’ve delivered a better one it its
place.
“The improvements we’ve made to this
road mean that it’s more likely to withstand the weather events of the future
and stay open so residents don’t get stuck.”
Quote attributable to NSW Minister for Roads and Regional Transport Jenny
Aitchison:
“No matter where you live, everyone deserves safe and reliable roads to access
education, employment and essential services.
“The Minns Labor Government has quadrupled disaster recovery funding, from $190 million per year under the previous government, to an average of more than $800 million per year.
“Tyalgum Road is a critical link, and we know the 2022 landslip caused significant disruption for the community. “Together with the Albanese Labor Government, the vital investment under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements has rebuilt ‘The Crack’ and reconnected the Tyalgum community.”
