Council building foundation for Wulguru landslide barrier
Date published: 18 May 2020
Townsville City Council is removing around 4,000 tonnes of rocks and earth material to create a base for a new landslide barrier at Wulguru.
Deputy Mayor and Infrastructure Services Committee Chair, Cr Mark Molachino said the wall will reduce the risk of landslips behind houses on Mueller Street.
“This 50 metre wall is an important part of Wulguru’s recovery from the 2019 monsoon,” Cr Molachino said.
“Some homes in the street had to be evacuated due to a landslide during the unprecedented monsoon last year and Council is working to make sure the area is safer in the future.
“Workers are removing around 4,000 tonnes of material from the site so they can build a platform to install a three-metre high wall that will contain landslips and divert water flow away from houses.”
Local councillor Les Walker said crews are using an innovative approach to build the wall.
“Workers will build an earth wall using wire baskets filled with blended earth and sands from a quarry – the final wall will look like a pyramid,” Cr Walker said.
“Crews will use around 2,000 tonnes of material from the quarry to build the base and the wall.”
Cr Walker said the 12-week project also includes an access track.
“Workers built a 250 metre long access track so they could reach the site – the existing bushland made it too hard for crews to access the area,” Cr Walker said.
“It’s great to see our team making good progress at the site – I’m sure residents are looking forward to seeing the finished product.”
Watch the YouTube video footage below:
