By Jed Lanyon
The Black Spur was reopened ahead of schedule on the evening of Tuesday 22 June, once again reuniting the Maroondah Highway from Healesville to Marysville and townships in eastern Victoria.
More than 3000 tonnes of debris has been removed from the highway since the wild storms earlier this month thanks to the coordinated efforts of the Department of Transport crews, contractors, arborists and geo-technical engineers. Crews worked to work to clean out drains, clear mudslides, and remove large trees blocking the road.
32 hazardous trees identified by an arborist have been pruned or removed and an additional ten hazardous trees identified during works have also been removed, according to the Department of Transport. All 12 landslips identified within the Black Spur have been repaired – with works continuing on the two remaining landslip sites in the coming days.
Heavy machinery was brought in from the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, including a crane. The narrow nature of the Black Spur meant that the crane took up the entire width of the road.
The Department had originally aimed to see the Black Spur reopened by about Friday 23 June.
Department of Transport executive director metro south east, Vince Punaro, said, “It is great news that the Black Spur has re-opened and communities can be reconnected once again.
“This has been a huge co-ordinated effort to reopen the road – the scale of the debris cleaned up by crews and contractors along the Black Spur cannot be understated.
“There is still more work to be done and – we thank the community for their ongoing patience as we work to ensure the Black Spur is safe for all road users.”
In the coming days and weeks, Department of Transport crews will be on-site removing timber and debris from the Black Spur, as well as repairing drainage. During works, there will be lane closures and reduced speeds in place to help keep our crews safe.
Motorists are urged to please drive safely, allow extra time on their journey, and look out for traffic management signs.
For further information about road closures or traffic updates, visit traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au or follow VicRoads on Facebook or Twitter.
