Landslip repairs are underway at two more sites on Cambewarra Mountain this week, with teams also preparing to start work on the last remaining landslip site on Brown Mountain. The Australian and NSW Governments are funding these repairs through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
Since severe weather impacted the area in 2022, 37 landslip sites have been repaired on Moss Vale Road between Cambewarra Village and Fitzroy Falls, with 13 sites still to go.
Transport for NSW has engaged specialist contractors to carry out slope stabilisation work beginning Sunday 6 July at two sites on the southern side of Cambewarra Mountain on Moss Vale Road.
The Cambewarra Mountain work will involve four weeks of repairs at a site one kilometre north of Barfield Road. Workers then move slightly south in early August to the second site, around 750 metres north of Barfield Road.
On Brown Mountain, a series of natural disasters in 2022 and 2023 caused landslip damage at nine separate sites.
Work on the final site, located about 2.7 kilometres west of the Brown Mountain Power Station, will start in the coming months. Work is to be carried out in two stages. Transport will keep the community informed ahead of work starting.
The work on both mountains will involve clearing debris and vegetation, drilling long steel rods (known as soil nails) into the slope, applying heavy-duty mesh or spraying concrete (known as shotcrete) and improving drainage.
Federal Minister for Regional Development Kristy McBain said:
"With $2.8 million in joint funding from the Australian and NSW Governments, we're making sure these essential landslip repairs on Cambewarra Mountain and Brown Mountain can get underway and keep communities connected and safe.
"This builds on the $1.7 million worth of works on Brown Mountain that are almost finished, and follows a huge effort last year to get Moss Vale Road fully reopened for the first time since those severe weather events hit back in early 2022."
NSW Minister for Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison said:
"When repairs at these latest two sites are complete, it will bring the total to 39 of 50 landslip sites repaired across Moss Vale Road between Cambewarra Village and Fitzroy Falls since the 2022 storm events. We will continue to update the community on repairs for the remaining sites.
"I thank the crews who have undertaken this specialist repair work with great efficiency in a short time. I also thank motorists for their patience while this essential work has been completed."
NSW Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin said:
"This is a great example of what can happen when governments work together. Recovery is hard work and takes time, but we are getting on with this vital repair work and making repairs to roads an absolute priority.
"One of the best things we can do in recovery is to make sure that communities have the essential public infrastructure that they need, and we're making good progress here."
Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips said:
"This repair work at Cambewarra is very welcome. Keeping the network in good shape has been challenging due to the weather and I am delighted to see action being taken quickly to undertake important repairs."
State Member for Bega Michael Holland said:
"It's encouraging to see we are nearing the final stage of landslip repairs on Brown Mountain following the significant weather events of 2022 and 2023.
We understand these works have been disruptive, and I thank the community-especially local motorists-for their continued patience as we prioritise safety and long-term resilience in our transport network."
