Tea and Muffins with ESC

The Beagle Editor,

After 7 months and a number of requests, council staff finally consented to meet with residents of Araluen Road to discuss the proposed bypass solution around the Knowles Creek landslide and to answer our questions.

Staff traversed the newly graded fire trails to meet with residents at the Deua River fire shed on Saturday 19th June.

On the whole, most residents I spoke to viewed the meeting as ‘successful’ and we would like to publicly thank the council staff who attended. We were also appreciative of the muffins and fancy wooden box of tea bags that they supplied.

We found the presentation regarding the Knowles Creek bypass solution most informative and helpful in understanding the difficulties associated with the planning and constructing of the bypass road.

The drone footage over the 2 landslide sites and accompanying commentary was also well received and much appreciated.

However, the most welcome piece of news was that we now have a time frame, with work beginning on 5th July and machinery moving on site on 12 July.

For residents, it will have been been a very long 8 months waiting for completion of geotechnical investigations, planning/design and relevant approvals prior to any actual work beginning on the ground.

Also most worthy of celebration is that it is anticipated that the bypass will be finished before Christmas and that residents may be able to utilise it prior to completion.

This time frame was a huge plus for us, as prior to this announcement, residents had not been provided with any indication of the progress towards resolving the road closure and completion of the bypass – there was no ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ so to speak.

Residents were also thankful for the promise of more frequent ‘updates’ that are not repetitive or providing information that is self evident.

The remaining concerns are:

* financial impacts of road closure and having to use fire trails – wear and tear on vehicles/tyres, increased fuel consumption, loss of income, rent being paid while rebuilding of homes is on hold.

Many residents question why we must pay our rates, as the road was all we got for them – a 12 month rates waver would offer some sort of financial compensation for our increased costs/income loss.

When this was put at the meeting, the General Manager responded that council cannot make any concessions or waiver. But when it was pointed out that wavers had occurred after the bushfires, the General Manager said that she would look into it.

* residents stuck on the eastern side of the second landslide need to access Araluen and Braidwood for work, school, mail, supplies, children’s sport, social events, and other commitments. No solution or help for these residents was/has been provided. These residents have constructed their own bypass ‘track’ around the landslide, however it is extremely steep, dangerous and unusable in the wet. The alternative is a round trip in excess of 260 km for these residents.

* This second landslide will have to go through the same process as Knowles – months of preparation/planning prior to any on-the-ground work.

It is expected to take about 2 years before Araluen Road reopens to through traffic.

* the fact that there will be only one road out of the valley for the next fire season is concerning and causing anxiety.

* when asked about the probability of ‘another landslide or road slip’ where no detour is available, the response was something like, ‘that would be problematic!’ It was a serious, question considering the numerous problem sites, and deserved a serious response.

* The question was also asked as to what the protocol was for trying to return responsibility for Araluen Road to the RMS, as council has never been able to afford the required maintenance/repairs and never will. The only response was that they wished they could. This too, was a serious question requiring a serious answer.

We must now keep our fingers crossed that no more ‘problem sites’ collapse causing further closures.

Patricia Gardiner

Deua Ruiver Valley