June 5, 2009
Major roadworks are underway on two major feeder local roads outside Tamworth and motorists are being asked to slow down to avoid any problems around the construction zones.
Tamworth Regional Council is undertaking major upgrades to parts of the Nundle Rd near Piallamore and on the Upper Moore Creek Rd end of Moonbi Gap Rd.
Bridge works will start on Tuesday (June 9) about 12km along Nundle Rd where the old Trough Gully timber bridge is being replaced and traffic will be using a sidetrack detour while that work is completed.
TRC senior construction engineer Graeme McKenzie says the sidetrack will be in operation around the bridgeworks for about six weeks and he’s appealing to traffic to slow down to the 40km construction zone speed limit to avoid any risk of accidents or problems.
Mr McKenzie said the stretch of road near the works was notorious as a straighter stretch on the often winding road.
“We really need the cooperation of traffic because it is a busy road and there’s a tendency for some drivers to go a bit faster along there,” Mr McKenzie said.
“We need people to obey those speed zones and avoid putting themselves or others at risk.”
At Upper Moore Creek, a $450,000 project to complete the sealing of the entire Moonbi Gap Rd is about half way. TRC is sealing a two kilometre strip about three kilometers from the Upper Moor Creek Rd junction. Earthworks and drainage is nearly complete and TRC crews will move on to constructing the pavement and doing the sealing works over the next three or so weeks.
Traffic will continue to be restricted to one lane during the works but delays of less than 10 minutes are expected.
Civil construction manager Murray Russell says TRC is encouraging motorists to take alternative routes if they can or if they don’t want to encounter those delays.
He says the works can’t be completed without those safety precautions and the work will deliver a safe and more comfortable road for what has become a busier feeder and bypass route over the past couple of years.
At Piallamore, the old seven-metre long Trough Gully bridge will be replaced by a series of three box culverts spanning nearly 11metres and will increase the capacity of water runoff under the roadway there.
The works are another in the series of timber bridge replacements being undertaken by TRC with part funding from the RTA. The initial works from Tuesday involve dismantling and demolishing the existing structure and then installing the culverts and fixing the road surface.