Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips is encouraging local residents to take a day trip to Kangaroo Valley following the completion of 38 major landslip remediation projects surrounding the village.

“The businesses of Kangaroo Valley have done it tough following a series of landslips that restricted access for locals and visitors alike,” Mrs Philips said.

“The completion of works, including the opening a section of Wattamolla Road at Barrengarry, means people can now take a scenic drive from Berry to Kangaroo Valley and enjoy everything the village has to offer.

“I really hope people will head over the hill and support the small businesses in Kangaroo Valley where you can enjoy morning tea at one of the cafes, lunch at the pub and shop till you drop in the variety of local specialty shops.”

The completion of the final landslip road works on Bunkers Hill Road signals the end of a $59 million remediation package targeting of 38 major landslips in Kangaroo Valley and surrounding communities, and more than two years of major reconstruction works in the Shoalhaven.

Declared a natural disaster area following severe weather and flooding in March 2022, the work was jointly funded by the Australian and NSW governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

The completion of the last landslip on Bunkers Hill Road, Barrengarry signalled the end to major work, putting the local community well on track to recovery.

Mrs Phillips said the completion of works would come as a huge relief for local residents.

"I saw firsthand the devastating impact these landslips had on our local communities,” Mrs Phillips said.

"People were often isolated and had to undergo huge changes to their circumstances just to go about their day-to-day lives.

“There was a time when stock feed had to be choppered into local properties for cattle. It really was devastating.

 "I’m really happy to see this final landslip fixed and I thank everyone involved in the repair works.”

Mrs Phillips said the record-breaking rainfall, the terrain, the widespread damage and the risks associated with the landslip works across the region provided a logistical challenge for geotechnical engineers and work crews.

“The task to fully remediate 38 landslips has been a mammoth undertaking resulting in the delivery of robust and fully remediated roads,” she said.

“The opening marks an incredible milestone that is testament to the resilience of our community and the dedication of the project team to get the job done.”

Construction group Symal carried out the contract to repair the Shoalhaven’s 38 worst landslips.

The scale of the job is highlighted by the people-power and materials it took to repair the region:

• 1,000 bored concrete piles (7,700 metres drilled total)
• 1.6 km of capping beams formed and poured (capping beams tie the piles together to reduce movement)
• 3,600 cubic metres of concrete (used for piles, capping beams and shotcrete)
• 1,050 soil nails (steel bars used to reinforce slopes)
• 19,500 tonnes of imported quarry product (stone, shale, crushed rock, ballast etc.)
• 225,000 worker hours.

Photo: Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips pictured with local representatives during a tour of the landslip repairs on Wattamolla Road on Friday.

Photo 2: Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips speaks to an ABC reporter at the road work site.

Photo 3: Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips is encouraging local residents to explore Kangaroo Valley.

Media contact: Katrina Condie 0437 662 967