Flood-damaged highway section takes another hit of water
Heavy rainfall and rising water levels in the River Derwent have caused further damage to the landslide-affected area under repair on the Lyell Highway at Plenty Corners between Hayes and Rosegarland.
But the Department of State Growth says that repair work is still set to finish on schedule by the end of the year.
Flooding in September 2024 caused significant damage to the riverbank, threatening to cave in the road's edge.
The area was cordoned off whilst geotechnical experts assessed the best way to fix the issues before repair work began in late August, almost a year after the original damage occurred.
The Department of State Growth had previously said they had contractors place significant rock border protection along the area and were closely monitoring the site whilst working with Hydro Tasmania to anticipate any water releases.
The road is still safe for vehicle use, with roadwork barriers moved a metre further from the edge of the highway – making the single lane in use currently narrower.
Vehicles wider than 3 metres will not be able to travel through the construction area and will need to find an alternative route.
Tasmania Police has advised that the affected section of the highway could close if flooding or further damage occurs.
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Derwent River.
Perhaps the experts referred to, might investigate the history of this corner before wasting more money trying to stabilise the artificial river bank in question. Nature and the flow characteristics of this river bend, originally provided a mostly stable river bank, before poor engineering from around the 1950/60’s, saw a cut and fill design implemented to widen the corner, rather than more property acquisition and a total cut design. So forget wasting money on something that will never be achieved, purchase the necessary property to achieve the road widening, and let the river bank return to what nature intended.