Road to be shut for over a year
FRUSTRATED Springbrook residents and businesses impacted by the main access road closure face a year – possibly longer – before it reopens.
The Gold Coast-Springbrook Road into the town via Mudgeeraba has been closed since it was hit with 112 slips from ex-Cyclone Debbie flooding three months ago.
Residents say they are getting increasingly frustrated at a lack of clarity about when it would reopen and it was impacting business and tourism.
Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey revealed crews had spent three months clearing debris and it was continuing “due to further rock falls including from the recent rainfall and strong winds last week”.
“The full assessment of the damage to the road and the development of designs to restore the road and stabilise slopes is ongoing,” he said. “But due to the complexities of the damage, initial estimates suggest it could take more than a year to complete.”
Springbrook is still accessible via Pine Creek Rd but it means a longer commute and is tougher on vehicles. The road also collapsed during the flooding but was restored within 36 hours after around-theclock work from State Government’s RoadTek.
Mr Bailey said geotechnical assessments had identified damage to the main route’s mountain not just the road.
“I can’t stress enough the extremely challenging nature of the repair works. Many sites uphill are very unstable and require hand work as machinery in these unstable areas is not an option. Our priority has to remain the safety of all road users and our crews.”
A specialist design team was fast-tracking restoration solutions for 30 critical sites but a timeline for construction was still being finalised, he said.
It was cold comfort for residents such as teacher Josephine Slack whose drive to a Robina school for work took a further 30 minutes each way.
“I’ve heard it could be a few years. If it’s that long I won’t live here anymore.”