Road Work Ahead – 14 Jan 2017

What we have discovered over a short period of time is that the road plays a big part in water delivery and flow over our property.  This is also one part of the causes of erosion here.

So we do ‘work’ on various bits of Lamington National Park Rd which runs above Arborlon.

We may have mentioned previously that this the responsibility of the Department of Main Roads and Scenic Rim Regional Council. But we don’t wait for them.

The first time we experienced a washout from water from the road, we could see where the water that caused the damage had come from.  Straight across the road and into the gullys on our property taking with it large chunks of earth.

The work, clearing road drains, in the pictures above, keeps the water that flows down the road on the high side of the road so that it then flows to the under-road drains.  There is flows to the low side via concrete drains and is delivered to the head of the gully.

By ensuring the water on the road reaches the drains, the water does not flow across the road and into our property in places that can not handle the flow. This leads to washouts.

Even small bits of work clearing blockages, as in the picture below, make a huge difference to the flow of water down the road. These small channels allow the water to reach the gabion wall which protects the gully.  Without this done the water will flow along the road edge and seek a low point further down the mountain.

That low point may not be the the gully head, and wherever the water flows outside the gully erosion will occur.

We get lots of rain hear, and when it comes it comes in buckets!  So this work on the road is part of our rain preparations now.

A little bit of work has helped a lot already.