Fast Byron Bay landslip remediation keeps residents happy

Civil engineering firm EarthTEC, used fibre-reinforced shotcrete and soil nails for the emergency earthworks on a residential road at Wategos, after an embankment became unstable following heavy rain.
The road had to be closed, so the company chose fibre-reinforced shotcrete as thesolution to reduce repair time and allow the road to be reopened quickly.
Fibre reinforced shotcrete is quicker to install than the traditional shotcrete and reinforcement mesh alternative, which meant residents and tourists to Australia’s most easterly point, were not inconvenienced any longer than necessary.
The 7.5m high, 260m2 embankment, required the clearing of dense vegetation, scaling, installation of Maccaferri strip drains, installation of 327m of soil nails, and finally, batter drains to ensure the embankment was ready for shotcreting.
Its crew worked extra delicately with the equipment, which included a 25t excavator, as a brand new multi-million dollar house was sitting on top of the embankment.
EarthTec was approached by the Byron Shire Council to tender for the job at Wategos Beach, and
was able to begin work within four days of the tender request, following a speedy approval.
The company has also been awarded a tender by Byron Shire Council, for the repair of a large road slip at Possum Shoot Road in Myocum, expected to start in early August, as well as another soil nailing project for neighbouring Ballina Shire.
The Myocum works involve detailed excavation, construction of a 5m high gabion terramesh retaining wall, and reconstruction of the existing 50m section of wide road.
EarthTEC has been called on by other councils to repair roads damaged by erosion and landslips, and the response has always been quick, thorough and competitively priced.
Following a cyclone in far north Queensland, the Bloomfield Road between Port Douglas and Cooktown was severely damaged, with many sections of the important tourist and local community route affected by landslips.
As part of a major road reconstruction project, Cooktown Shire Council engaged EarthTEC to complete an $8m package of remediation works that included four major slip sites, the relocation and protection of a Telstra fibre optic line, excavation, and extensive rip-rap toe protection, rock mattress, gabions, Terramesh reinforced earth walls, soil nailing, rock fall protection mesh, concrete, drainage, asphalt and re-vegetation.
Based on the success of this project, a further two terramesh walls and a river crossing remediation, contracts were awarded to the company and were successfully completed.
EarthTEC’s design and construct turn-key capability and professional results, regularly lead to further contracts for retaining walls and slip repairs, in surrounding areas.
After heavy rains and eight major landslips in Coffs Harbour made access unsafe to many properties, it was contracted to remediate the landslips, improve drainage and where practical widen the curve of the road.
Again, the success of these repairs resulted in similar projects including a range of techniques in the Coffs Harbour area.
EarthTEC is a specialist construction contractor with expertise in ground retention, reinforced earth, landslip remediation, rock fall protection, erosion control, earth stabilisation, geomembrane linings and water barrier systems. With more than 1000 completed projects across a diverse range of applications, the company has amassed an impressive resume of successful projects.