Byron Shire Council has been forced to close a section of Federal Drive at Federal because of the potential for a serious landslip.
The road was closed on Friday afternoon (February 15) after an inspection of a section of the road by an independent geotechnical consultant engineer.
The section of road on the western side of Federal Drive was identified as a landslip hazard in June 2018 and staff began planning for stabilisation works to be undertaken.
Infrastructure services director Phil Holloway said that the preliminary investigations have been completed and Council is set to approve a preferred contractor at the March Council meeting.
‘As part of our routine safety schedule, we get an independent engineer to do regular checks on stability of this section of road – and during the most recent check it was noted that the landslip had worsened,’ Mr Holloway said.
‘The dry weather has also resulted in cracks appearing in the soil on the slope, and this means that even a small amount of rain could result in a landslip.
‘This is naturally extremely dangerous for anyone who may be on the road at that time,’ he said.
Locals will still be able to access their properties but some people may have to take a detour.
‘We apologise for any inconvenience but from a safety perspective we had no choice but to close this road until the landslip is repaired,’ Mr Holloway said.
Council is expecting contractors will start work on stabilising the landslip in April-May this year. Once work starts it will take approximately eight weeks to complete.
