Work has resumed this week on further protecting State Highway 6 from rock fall at Dellows Bluff south of Murchison.
The site has been the location of ongoing resilience work since July 2022 when the highway was closed after a major rockfall. Rock scaling and blasting has been done to reduce the risk of rockfalls and shipping containers are in place to further protect traffic.
SH6 Dellows Bluff rockfall, July 2022.
Rob Service, System, Manager Top of the South, says contractors are back at the site.
“They’re drilling anchors into the cliff to secure rock anchors and apply steel mesh. The aim is to have this work finished before Christmas.
“Securing the cliff face will help reduce the risks of rockfalls and make the highway much safer for the public,” Mr Service says.
He says the good news is the work shouldn’t affect drivers.
“Most of the work can be done behind the containers, and traffic will be able to drive through the site unaffected, albeit under a 50 km/h speed limit.”
We will have to helicopter equipment on and off the site, but that will only require drivers to wait up to 15 minutes and then be able to drive through the work site,” Mr Service says.
Once the rockfall protection work is complete, Mr Service says work crews will return to the site in the New Year to remove the shipping containers, restore road markings, and have the section of the highway back to its former 100 km/h speed limit.
“This may require some road closures, but we’ll wait until after the peak holiday season to do this. We want to keep disruption for drivers and residents to an absolute minimum.”
