Waterfall Way once again open to traffic after landslide damage

The road has been completely since a massive landslip caused by extreme, flooding rains earlier in March.

The road was also damaged in an earlier rainstorm, in March 2021.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said on Saturday that the road was once again traversable, though it still only remains open for one lane of traffic west of Thora.

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Crews from Transport for NSW, Bellingen Shire Council and specialist contractors worked tirelessly to clear fallen trees and thousands of tonnes of debris from the road west of Thora, he said.

"We know the importance of this route to local communities and visitors, so restoring access as quickly as we could has always been our priority," he said.

"It has been challenging but our crews have thrown everything at it to get it open again.

"Some further slipping was detected during the clean-up and we had to make sure the potential for more landslips did not pose a risk to motorists.

"It's great we now have one lane operating but we know there is more work to do to get traffic moving freely.

"Slope stability is one of the biggest issues we face on Waterfall Way and we will continue to implement measures to make the road more resilient."

Member for Oxley Melinda Pavey said a year's worth of repairs to the Myers Bluff section of the road have been completed to a degree to make it safe for two lanes of traffic.

"This section of Waterfall Way was damaged in the flooding of March 2021 and has been under single lane restrictions since then," she said.

"Again, this was a challenge for the geotechnical team and work crews, as there were numerous smaller follow-up slips over the past 12 months.

"The team is now confident the road is safe to open to two lanes of traffic, removing a pinch point in this corridor.

"Work to restore this section of road to its previous condition will continue in the coming months."

Transport for NSW and Council will continue to monitor the road, which may need to be closed at short notice in the event of further slips.

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