REMOVAL of rubble and trees from the Devil's Nook landslip site, 6km east of Bellbrook, began this morning supervised by specialist geotech engineers.
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The slip, starting approximately 85 metres above the roadway, has closed Armidale Rd and isolated around 300 residents in the Bellbrook area, and Kempsey Shire Council anticipates clearing will take around a week.
"We've brought in a specialised team that are able to abseil adjacent to the face of the slip and inspect the stability and depth of the issue. While the inspection is carried out the team use tools to loosen material that hasn't fallen yet, aiming to accelerate the completion of the slip," council general manager Craig Milburn said.
"We also have a long reach excavator and standard machinery onsite ready to start clearing debris once it is safe to do so."
The Bellbrook community is well used to the inconvenience of flood impacts and road closures. Several experienced drivers of 4WD vehicles have been able to detour to the south of the Macleay River and landslip to access Kempsey, but this involves crossing two causeways and with more rain predicted driving through flood waters is not advised.
Council has worked with the SES to arrange for urgent supplies of non-perishable goods or medications to be air lifted into Bellbrook with over 100kg of supplies delivered this afternoon and another drop planned for Friday.
Residents have made individual arrangements to purchase items and have them delivered to the Elbow St Recovery Hub, and council assisted with the helicopter and arranging distribution through the Bellbrook Hotel.
Armidale Regional Council and Transport NSW have created limited access for local residents and emergency vehicles through the roadworks site between Raspberry Rd and Georges Junction, west of Bellbrook. Updates on that access can be found at https://www.armidaleregional.nsw.gov.au/council/newsroom/works-and-projects/kempsey-road
"We are doing everything we can to secure the landslip and create access, but in the meantime the community are drawing on their experience with living in an isolated area and working together to support each other," Mr Milburn said.
