Lithgow Council has assured the community that work continues to re-open the Browns Gap Road to traffic. The road has had a long period of closure since subsidence of former mine workings next to the road back in mid-2022.
The Council's General Manager, Craig Butler said, "The council had engaged local civil works contractors with a plan to commence works and provide a limited through flow of traffic from August. But further examination of the slope conditions revealed other problem areas on the slopes adjacent to the road. These needed to be fully studied and the corrective works carefully designed to ensure a complete and permanent solution is delivered to the community."
"The nature of these slippages on steep sloping lands are such that once the material starts to move, the treatment becomes more complex. We need to design the works so that heavy machinery and workers can be placed at the work site and operate safely."
Mr Butler added, "Just last Thursday Council's engineering advisers went to the location to finalise on-site investigations. This final information will be compiled into a technical report and submitted for NSW Government funding as soon as possible."
Mr Butler concluded, "I understand why the community will be asking questions about the lengthy closure of this access to the city. While the job is complex and a bit dynamic, I acknowledge that our communication has not been adequate. Going forward, the Council will issue a weekly update on the status of the project on a dedicated page of Council's website."
A link to the Browns Gap Road project update webpage is as follows:
https://council.lithgow.com/browns-gap-road-community-update/
