Princes Highway set to reopen at Bunga Creek
The Princes Highway at Bunga Creek east of Lakes Entrance will reopen ahead of the busy tourist season.
It is anticipated that over the next week traffic will return to two lanes on the newly rebuilt section. This will be a staged approach to enable the final construction works to be completed.
The highway, 5km east of Lakes Entrance, was closed in September while emergency works were carried out. Corroded pipes, 10 metres below the road’s surface failed, causing the road to drop.
The highway was closed to ensure the safety of the travelling public. Traffic had been using a purpose built sidetrack next to the highway.
VicRoads Regional Director Scott Lawrence thanked the community for their patience while the pipes were replaced and the highway rebuilt.
“I’d particularly like to thank the freight industry for their cooperation, they have been using the heavy vehicle detour since load limits were imposed in April,” Mr Lawrence said.
“The community and local traders have been awaiting the completion of the works and we are pleased to have this project completed before Christmas.
“Our crews worked long days, weekends and public holidays to get the highway reopened, and we are very pleased to have met our commitment to the local community.”
In total 166 concrete pipes, approximately 2.1 metres in diameter and weighing nearly seven tonne each, were installed more than 10 metres below the original surface.
The works included the removal and backfilling of more the 45,000 tonnes of soil, placement of over 1,500 cubic metres of concrete as well as the reinstatement of the original road pavement.
It is a good news story and we should thank various individuals for assisting in focusing attention on the need to ensure this critical infrastructure link for Lakes Entrance was fully reinstated prior to the peak holiday season. Tim Bull and Dick Ellis who attended local meetings with Vic Roads and LEADA who monitored the progress of the works