By Michael Burt
Thora store owner Paul Creighton is banking on an imminent one lane opening on Waterfall Way to remove a massive isolation impact on income and supply.
The general store and accompanying Pit Stop Burgers has suffered more than most since Waterfall Way closed almost two months ago, relying on the loyalty of the local Thora community to keep the business afloat.
“Business is down by around 35 per cent and our Pit Stop Burgers business had nothing for five weeks, so it has been closed,” Mr Creighton said
“We reopened it last week but rather than doing 100 burgers on a Sunday, we did just 17.”
Mr Creighton said the supply of groceries and fuel has been a significant and costly challenge.
“We’ve had to limit our customers to no more than $50 worth of fuel per vehicle.”
It has been three weeks since the Minns Government pledged to restore controlled one-lane access at Gordonville Cutting within six weeks. There is no confirmation of whether that timeline will be met, but Bellingen Shire Council is moving forward with planned upgrades for Summervilles Road.
Last week, the council welcomed $3.8 million in Federal Government funding to replace Summervilles Creek Bridge and Summervilles Bridge on Summervilles Road.
“Work on the upgrade to Summervilles Road will begin when Waterfall Way is restored to one lane, which is currently planned to be completed as per Transports announcement in March. The timeframe provided will be dependent on weather,” said Council General Manager Mark Griffioen.
“Once Waterfall Way is open, the upgrade of this first section of Summerville’s Road can begin, with three kilometres of the existing unsealed road to be rehabilitated and sealed with bitumen. During this time, the planning and design process for the replacement of Summervilles Creek bridge and Summervilles bridge can also get underway.”“When the upgrade to Summervilles Road has been sufficiently progressed, Waterfall Way will be closed again to enable a long-term solution to the landslip site to be implemented. Once Waterfall Way is re-opened, the two new bridges on Summervilles Road can then be constructed.”The Waterfall Way dilemma has also inspired a natural disaster declaration for the Bellingen Shire. This activates disaster recovery support for the community, including low-interest loans, freight and transport assistance for businesses and primary producers, and grants and concessional loans for community and sporting organisations. “The disaster declaration is very welcome news and some thing Council has been advocating strongly for with both State and Federal Governments,” said Mayor Steve Allan.
Cr Allan said the larger projects of a complete upgrade of Summervilles Road and full corridor assessment of Waterfall Way and surrounding routes still need to be planned, funded and implemented.
“We will maintain the pressure on all levels of government to keep this project top of mind until a long-term solution for Waterfall Way is in place, as well as a further commitment for the upgrade of the Summervilles Road detour.”
“Our number one priority continues to be the safety, wellbeing and connectivity of the Bellingen Shire and I am pleased to see the progress that we have made on this crucial issue.”