Residents could be isolated for months after Megalong Valley landslide

NSW government could lower dam capacity to mitigate floods risk

Around 150 residents of the Megalong Valley in the NSW Blue Mountains remain almost entirely cut off from the world, after a section of the only access road was washed away in a landslide last week.

A pedestrian walkway was established yesterday over a chasm opened on Megalong Road after heavy rains, but vehicle access may remain impossible for weeks, if not months.

Megalong Valley resident Claudia Abbott said the landslide had brought the tightly knit community “a lot of stress, anxiety, worry, anger and frustration”.

“We’re getting through it, but it’s a stressful time”, Abbott told 9news.com.au.

“And we still don’t know how long it’s going to be before the road is fixed.

“There’s a horse down here, and it’s sick and needs to be put down, but we can’t get a vet in.”

She said some residents who work in nearby Blackheath have been forced to rent temporary accommodation in the town, unable to return to their homes in the valley.

The financial blows from the landslide extend to those who stayed.

“All the people that stayed down here, can’t get up with their cars, so they can’t do their work”, Abbott said.

Many Megalong Valley residents rely on bookings for camping groups, birthday parties and weddings on their properties for income.

Without a working road, that revenue stream will remain closed for some time.

There is disaster relief funding available for victims of the floods.

But beside an urgent fix to the road, Abbott said that what valley residents need is tailored financial assistance, “not just here’s a here’s a little grant for you”.

“I think it needs to be case by case, people spoken to individually.”

Abbott’s property had a temporary access road installed last weekend, to help evacuate a large group of people who were trapped in the valley.

There are no concrete plans yet to turn that into a permanent access route.

Blue Mountains Council said they are working to restore road access as soon as possible.

A construction crew has been deployed to stabilise the road.

“We want to get one-lane vehicle access operating again on Megalong Road, as soon as possible”, Blue Mountains CEO Dr Rosemary Dillon said in a statement.

“This is essential for residents of the Megalong Valley, but also the businesses in the valley.”

The council contractors are spraying concrete at the site of the collapse, which will then enable them to use large soil nails and sheet piles to build a one-lane access road.

Other options explored for securing access included cutting into the rock wall of the site, or bringing in a temporary bridge.

Blue Mountains City Council said they had provided 1,200 litres of fuel, food and other essential supplies to the valley residents.

Further drops will continue, aided by a helicopter.

Blue Mountains City Council Mayor Mark Greenhill has appealed to the state government to urgently fund repairs of the new road.

“The full cost of road repair in the Megalong Valley is more than council’s total annual income”, he said.

“We’ve spent more on Megalong Valley roads recently, than all other roads in the Blue Mountains.

“We need significant help from state and federal governments in regards to disaster infrastructure funding.

“Like-for-like funding doesn’t work in examples like this. We can’t replace infrastructure to a standard that it was before the natural disaster. What’s the point of that?

“Megalong Road was built in the early 1900s. It’s not designed to take the impact of multiple natural disasters and extreme flooding events. We have to build it back, at a better quality, for the sake of the Megalong Valley community and economy”.