Motorists can expect a flurry of activity on Numinbah Road from this week, as key road reconstruction works get into full swing.
The works between Murwillumbah and Chillingham are expected to take several months to complete, and motorists are warned to expect delays.
The first lot of road reconstruction works will be undertaken on a 650-metre section of Numinbah Road, between the village of Chillingham and Chilcotts Road, and will include road stabilisation and the application of new bitumen seal.
Council's Director of Engineering David Oxenham said these flood recovery works had started this week and some traffic delays could be expected.
"We know this section of the road network has taken a battering since the flood in February-March, particularly with the increased traffic we are experiencing as a result of the closure of Tyalgum Road due to a major landslip there," Mr Oxenham said.
"Weather permitting, we expect it will take about 4 weeks to complete this first part of the works. We understand there may be long waits for motorists, however this is necessary for the safety of road users as well as crews on site.
"Traffic controllers will be in place to direct traffic flow and we will minimise the temporary closures where possible, however please allow for extra travel time while works are underway."
During the first week, the road will be temporarily closed for periods of 10-minutes which may cause delays of between 20 and 30 minutes. These temporary closures will be scheduled between 9 am and 3 pm to avoid morning and afternoon peak time traffic.
These flood recovery works are the first of a rolling program targeting 3 of the worst sections of Numinbah Road. While the original intent was to carry out these sections sequentially, there will be a period in late September where 2 of the sites will be working simultaneously.
Other works planned for Numinbah Road include pavement reconstruction works scheduled to start on Monday 19 September near Marken Place, which will take about 5 weeks to complete.
When completed, crews will move on to the area near Crooks Valley Road and this will take about 8 weeks to complete.
While this may mean additional delays, Council's intent is to take advantage of what is hoped to be finer weather before the wet summer season. This schedule aims to maximise works undertaken in the school holidays to reduce disruption to school traffic, and to ensure all sections of Numinbah Road are completed before Christmas.
There will also be several additional flood repairs carried out at various locations over the coming months – these will include repairs to culverts and embankments and will generally be smaller, isolated worksites that will have only minor impacts on traffic flow.
Transport for NSW has recently informed Council they will undertake repair works on Korns Bridge, on Numinbah Road, sometime before the end of the year. These works will also need to be coordinated to reduce impacts to motorists.
To improve road safety, a $1 million guardrail package for Numinbah Road is also planned to begin in the first quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile, design works are continuing on the major landslips on Limpinwood and Zara roads and construction works at these sites are expected to occur next year.
These works are part of Council's commitment to maintain a safe and connected local road network.
For more details about these and other roadworks across the Tweed visit tweed.nsw.gov.au/roadworks.
To learn more about how we build, upgrade and maintain a safe and connected local road network, including how we prioritise road maintenance projects, visit tweed.nsw.gov.au/roads.
