Sabroan Street residents are fed up after seven months of dealing with a closed street as they wait for repairs to a bank-slip, the second landslip in two years, and have raised safety concerns over diverted traffic down their normally quiet street.
However, Noosa Council’s infrastructure services director Larry Sengstock described the repair work as a “significant project“ requiring a two-stage fix that was dependent on a number of factors including state government funding and the availability of contractors, making it impossible to provide “firm timelines“.
Sabroan Street resident Robert Petterwood said when the initial slippage occurred in 2020, the area wasn’t completely repaired, “hence it’s slipped again“.
“Originally one of the mowing contractors noticed movement along Sobroan Street to the beach. [Council] found a section of road had moved down the road and into the creek. They had a major problem, more in Tingira street when a water pipe burst causing a sink hole – a massive hole,“ he said.
As soon as that was repaired, council replaced the bridge on David Low Way, diverting the traffic during the roadworks from the main road one way along Sobroan.
“We went from a quiet suburban street to a main highway with 12,000 cars a day on it. The movement in Sobroan Street exacerbated it all,“ Rob said.
“They closed Sobroan and did a major repair job. That took several months. They drilled down and put down stabilisers, put rods vertically into the side of the bank, then at 45 degrees and tied them together with a concrete beam for about three-quarters of the way along Sobroan where the creek is.
“That seemed to work.“
During the Easter weekend Rob noticed the section of bank without stabilising rods had moved substantially so he informed council.
The area was inspected and a barrier of a chain wire fence put around the slippage. In the first week of May there was heavy rain. The whole bank went, leaving the path suspended in mid-air, Rob said.
New stormwater pipes were installed – the stormwater was undercutting the bank so they diverted the stormwater, he said.
Rob said while council keep a reasonable eye on the area, residents have been left without street access directly to the beach from David Low Way for seven months, resulting in a considerable amount of traffic detouring along what was previously a quiet neighbourhood street, and residents expect traffic to increase markedly during the school holidays.
“Everybody in the neighbourhood is in uproar,“ Rob said.
“We have no indication of a finish date for the works and when the street will reopen.“
Council’s Larry Sengstock set out the process involved in the two-stage repair work, with the first stage of stormwater work completed in October.
“The first phase involved diverting underground stormwater connections at the Sobraon and Vernon Streets intersection,“ he said.
“This work was required to permanently redirect the stormwater outfall from the impacted slope area to a new connection along David Low Way.
“Phase two includes the stabilisation of the slope.“
A design treatment involving the placement of additional rock fill and gabion baskets has been selected to facilitate a relatively short construction timeframe, he said.
Mr Sengstock said construction timing depends on when the detailed designs are finalised, the procurement process and availability of contractors.
“Unfortunately, we cannot provide firm timeframes until the construction procurement process is complete, which we hope will be done early in the new year,” he said.
“In consultation with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA), council has sought approval for reconstruction funding through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) as part of our response to the severe weather events earlier this year. The total cost of the project is still subject to the procurement process.“
Residents also raised concerns about traffic safety, saying there had been several “near misses“ on the open section of Sabroan Street since the road closure and they feared an accident was imminent.
Resident Max Futcher said he feared for the safety of the many children that used the street and walked to the beach and the many dogs that were walked in the area.
In response, Mr Sengstock said council was gathering traffic data to inform any necessary temporary traffic control treatments to help manage traffic over the busier holiday period.
“The timing and implementation of a temporary traffic control treatment is dependent on the traffic data results and other safety considerations. If viable, Council will be looking to implement any treatment as soon as practical. The closed section of Sobraon Street remains open to pedestrians,” he said.
“We have updated residents on the progress throughout this extreme rain event asset failure, and we are committed to keeping them updated as new information becomes available. Council acknowledges this unfortunate and complex event’s effect on the local residents. We would like to thank residents for their understanding and patience whilst we work to deliver a suitable solution, as soon as we can.”
