Walter Hay Drive reopens following $2.5M upgrade
Council today reopened Walter Hay Drive after completing a $2.5 million road surface upgrade.
The resurfacing is among more than 25 roadwork projects Council has completed across the shire under this year’s capital works program.
Noosa Council Civil Operations Manager Allan Hull said resealing the length of Walter Hay Drive would prevent continued cracking, which could have damaged the road’s foundations, at significant repair cost to ratepayers.
“The old surface had failed and there was significant cracking, and various sections of it were starting to pothole,” Mr Hull said.
“The problems have been there for a number years but it had deteriorated significantly over the past 12 months.
“Because the surface is there to protect the road pavement underneath, if we had left it too long and moisture had got into it we would be faced with a major rehabilitation project which would have cost millions of dollars more.
“We also took the opportunity to repair the expansion joints along the Eenie Creek Bridge, as well as undertake drainage and vegetation maintenance,” Mr Hull said.
“For the 13,000 motorists who drive Walter Hay Drive daily it means a more pleasant trip.”
Mr Hull said closing the road during construction saved ratepayers more than half a million dollars and slashed the delivery timeframe by approximately two weeks.
The work was carried out with the help of Roads to Recovery funding of approximately $560,000.
“We were able to re-open the road in time for the Easter holidays with only a brief closure on Tuesday and Wednesday this week due to some unforseen wet weather,” he said.
9 April 2014