West Coast landslide blocks road

WORK has started to clear 200-600cu m of debris from an unstable embankment on the Zeehan Highway after a landslide at the weekend.

The highway has been closed since the landslide just north of Yolande River (pictured).

While works are done, and until one lane is expected to reopen by the end of the week, trucks bringing supplies, school buses, mine workers and tourists travelling between Zeehan and Queenstown need to travel through Strahan.

Mayor Shane Pitt said the diversion added about an hour to the trip and cost to those receiving goods or sending them out to Burnie.

“There are local contractors looking at the situation and coming up with a plan. There was a landslide on the Lyell Highway about 10 years ago and that embankment needed to be meshed to stop it happening again,” Cr Pitt said.

Recent heavy rains have caused trees to fall across roads and is thought to have destabilised the embankment along a 45m section of the road which links Zeehan and Queenstown. Initial investigations have found there are between 200 and 600cu m of rock, soil and trees which need to be removed because they could pose a risk to road users if they fell.

Wet conditions in the area have increased this risk.

The initial work will involve making the slip location safe so that one lane can be safely opened to traffic by the end of the week. Once the lane has reopened, the Department of State Growth will assess the embankment and decide what permanent repair works are needed.

The Zeehan Highway between the Anthony Rd and Lyell Highway junctions is closed to all through traffic.

This means people travelling between Zeehan and Queenstown will need to detour via Strahan.

“We recognise the road closure is affecting the community and regret the disruption, but our highest priority will always be to keep people safe,” the department said.

Details on affected bus routes are listed on the Tassielink website.

More details can also be found at www.transport.tas.gov.au/zeehan.