Workers repair a landslip on Brown Mountain during a previous round of repairs. Photo: Supplied.
Landslip repairs are progressing for two problem-plagued mountains.
Across Cambewarra and Brown mountains, wild weather has triggered nearly 50 landslips since 2022.
Federal Minister for Regional Development Kristy McBain said she was thrilled repair works were moving forward.
“With $2.8 million in joint funding from the Australian and NSW governments, we’re making sure these essential landslip repairs on Cambewarra Mountain and Brown Mountain can get underway and keep communities connected and safe,” she said.
“This builds on the $1.7 million worth of works on Brown Mountain that are almost finished, and follows a huge effort last year to get Moss Vale Road fully reopened for the first time since those severe weather events hit back in early 2022.”
The work on both mountains will involve clearing debris and vegetation, drilling long steel rods (known as soil nails) into the slope, and improving drainage.
Workers will also apply heavy-duty mesh or sprayed concrete (known as shotcrete) to the mountain.
The funding means repairs at two sites on Cambewarra Mountain could start this month, while preparation works on the last remaining landslip site on Brown Mountain are carried out.
On Brown Mountain, a series of natural disasters in 2022 and 2023 caused landslip damage at nine sites.
Work to repair the final site, which is located about 2.7 km west of the Brown Mountain Power Station, will start in the coming months.
The repairs will be carried out in two stages, with Transport for NSW to notify the community before the work begins.
The repairs are at two sites along the Snowy Mountains Highway. Image: Australian Government.
Rainfall in 2022 also caused widespread damage to sections of Moss Vale Road, including at Cambewarra Mountain.
Since then, 37 landslip sites have been repaired on the road between Cambewarra Village and Fitzroy Falls, but 13 sites remain damaged.
Transport for NSW has engaged specialist contractors to carry out slope stabilisation works at two sites on the southern side of Cambewarra Mountain, along Moss Vale Road.
Repairs to Cambewarra Mountain will take place in July and August. Image: Australian Government.
Their efforts kicked off earlier this month at a site 1 km north of Barfield Road, and are expected to last for the rest of the month.
Afterwards, workers will move south to the second site, around 750 metres north of Barfield Road, to start those repairs in early August.
Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips welcomed the repair works.
“Keeping the network in good shape has been challenging due to the weather and I am delighted to see action being taken quickly to undertake important repairs,” she said.
The Australian and NSW governments are funding the repairs through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, where the cost of disaster responses can be shared across governments.
NSW Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin said the program was collaborative.
“This is a great example of what can happen when governments work together.
“Recovery is hard work and takes time, but we are getting on with this vital repair work and making repairs to roads an absolute priority.
“One of the best things we can do in recovery is to make sure that communities have the essential public infrastructure that they need, and we’re making good progress here.”
