We know there are people in Beachcomber Drive at Byron Bay who still have a lot of water in their homes.
This is a terrible situation and we have been working for many days on trying to get this situation fixed. It involves close liaison with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and we are working on a solution. Understandably residents are distressed and they want it sorted out.
Huonbrook Road is closed this week. More details are below. A contractor is back at Englishes Bridge and building another temporary access. With a bit of luck this will be finished by the end of the week.
We are winding up our kerbside flood-waste collection so if you still have things that need collecting make sure you read the information below.
Our next flood update will come out towards the end of the week.
Roads
We still have 23 roads closed in the shire and 'cautions' on another 42 roads.
Most of the roads that are closed are in the hinterland as we are now having to revisit the emergency repair work that we did after the first flood five weeks ago.
Many of these works are only temporary and we will start looking at more permanent solutions for the damaged roads and bridges once we restore emergency access to areas.
Please be patient as our staff and crews are terribly busy with this essential work. If you know of a problem that needs attention, please speak to staff on site or use Report It on our website.
Huonbrook, Upper Wilsons Creek Wanganui
Today we started work on the first landslip at Huonbrook and the road will be closed for much of the day until Sunday, 10 April.
We are doing stabilisation work with soil nails. Additional contractors will also be on-site this week to speed this work up with the aim being to get this section of road open to traffic as soon as possible.
The road closures times are below. Residents will not be able to pass through the site when the road is closed.
People can use the road before and after work starts and finishes but there may be short delays.
The road will be completely closed from:
- 9am to 12:00 noon daily
- 12:30pm to 4pm daily
- At night
Light traffic can access the road from:
- 7am to 9am daily
- 4pm to 6pm daily
There will be traffic control on the road from 7am to 6pm every day.
Signs are being put up at both sides of the landslip.
Coopers Creek
The water level in the creek has gone down and the contractor is back at Englishes Bridge and working on putting in another temporary access. All going well this will be finished by the end of the week.
Once the bridge access is done the focus will turn to Upper Coopers Creek Road.
If the bridge access is finished this week, contractors will next week start assessing the road and making temporary repairs so that residents can more easily access their properties.
Main Arm
Today we were back at Williams Bridge, continuing work on the abutments.
If the weather holds out we are hoping to have this finished by Easter.
Teams are also working on access to Upper Main Arm. Currently access past the Palmwoods turnoff is only open for residents and essential services.
Water, drainage and sewer
Our water treatment plant at Mullumbimby is back online. It had been offline since the rain last week.
Beachcomber Drive
We are still having some problems at Beachcomber Drive, Byron Bay where the water levels are still high.
It's incredibly distressing for people to still have water in their homes and we have been trying to find a solution since last week.
The difficulty is that we need permission to be able to drain water through the sand dunes in the nearby national park.
We are continuing to work with the National Parks and Wildlife Services to get this terrible situation fixed.
Flood clean-up and waste collection
Today we started our collection of flood waste in residential areas of Byron Bay. Suffolk Park was completed over the weekend.
Because flooding in Byron Bay and Suffolk Park was in isolated areas we are asking people to call us to book a collection. 1300 652 625. This applies to people in other parts of the Shire who also have flood-damaged waste.
Flood clean-up – what you need to know
- Free flood waste drop-off at skip bins and the Byron Resource Recovery Centre as well as kerbside pickup arranged via the Resource Recovery hotline ends on Sunday 10 April.
- If you live in a rural area that has been cut-off, or if there have been problems with access and we have not been able to collect your waste – don't worry – we will make special arrangements to get in there as soon as possible.
