The Andrews Labor Government is supporting Falls Creek businesses affected by a loss of summer season trade due to the ongoing landslide on the Bogong High Plains Road.
Minister for Industry and Innovation Ben Carroll and Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Jacinta Allan announced a $2.9 million package to provide service charge relief to businesses for a period of eight months.
Following work by the Department of Transport and Planning to remove a significant portion of the loose material on the major landslip between Mount Beauty and Falls Creek, Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) will ramp up works to complete the removal process.
The 100-metre wide and 70-metre-high landslip is still moving, and with the equivalent of around 100 Olympic swimming pools of earth to move to achieve a long-term safe outcome, it is one of the largest and most complex on the state’s road network in the last 40 years.
A team of experts are working to finalise the scope and timelines for the recovery effort – high summer rainfall and ongoing earth tremors coupled with moving earth present a huge engineering task.
The safety of the ground crews and local community is paramount – with an exclusion zone remaining in place should a major slide occur at any time.
Due to the current road conditions and with the results of geotechnical investigations yet to be known, MRPV has advised the road will not be safe to open in time for the Peaks Challenge scheduled for the weekend of 12 March.
As the manager of the Falls Creek resort, Alpine Resorts Victoria has been working closely with the Labor Government and the local community to respond to the impacts of the road closure.
Alpine Resorts Victoria will work with local businesses to manage the funding support program. More information will be made available at alpineresorts.vic.gov.au.
For more information on the Bogong High Plains Road landslip, visit regionalroads.vic.gov.au.
As stated by Minister for Industry and Innovation Ben Carroll
“This support package will provide relief to businesses missing out on summer trade, ensuring they make it through the green season and be ready to welcome visitors once the road is safely reopened.”
As stated by Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Jacinta Allan
“This is one of the most complex and significant landslips in our state for the last 40 years – the safety of motorists and the local community is our priority while experts work to clear a massive amount of debris.”
As stated by MRPV Program Director Dipal Sorathia
“The investigations we’ll conduct over the coming weeks will give us the best understanding of how we can safely clear the debris and reconnect the communities of Mount Beauty and Falls Creek.”
