Major slope repair work to boost Bells Line of Road resilience

Work on a project to remediate three slope failures alongside the Bells Line of Road at Mount Tomah to help keep the road open during future extreme weather events will get under way on Monday 29 May.
The Bells Line of Road has experienced a number of slope failures during heavy rain events beginning in March 2021, impacting the safety of the road and forcing temporary closures.
Transport for NSW Regional Director West Alistair Lunn said the NSW Government would carry out the slope repair work to improve the safety for all road users and to reduce the inconvenience to local residents and passing motorists of the road being forced to close.
“This long-term remediation work is an important investment in the communities of the Blue Mountains and regional NSW,” Mr Lunn said.
“The Bells Line of Road is a key link between Sydney and western NSW, a diversion route in the event of a Great Western Highway closure and also a popular drive for tourists and Blue Mountains Botanic Garden visitors, but we’ve seen the road closed far too often over the past two years due to unusually high rainfall.
“The three slopes earmarked for remediation are all within one kilometre of each other along the Bells Line of Road and two of them fall within the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden.
“This important work will prevent unplanned future road closures due to potential slope failures, preserve the life of the existing road infrastructure and ensure the ongoing safety of road users and the community.”
Quickway Construction Pty Ltd has been awarded the contract in a competitive open tender process to carry out the work, which is scheduled to take seven months to complete, weather permitting.
“Work across the three slopes includes, but is not limited to, slope scaling and vegetation clearing, bore piling, shotcrete and concreting, soil nailing, gabion basket, drainage work, pavement reconstruction, kerbing, new safety barriers and landscaping,” Mr Lunn said.
Motorists are advised of changed traffic conditions from Monday 29 May including stop-slow single lane traffic through the work site on weekdays and one lane of traffic in each direction at reduced speed on weekends.
Work will be carried out from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, weather permitting. Transport for NSW will advise in advance if other work is needed outside these times.
Motorists are advised to drive to the conditions and follow the directions of signs and traffic control.
Transport for NSW thanks motorists for their patience during this time. 
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