Tweed Shire Council, New South Wales, has received an Excellence in Road Safety Engineering award for the Kyogle Road upgrade near to Uki.
Completed in 2018, the project upgraded a 500m section of Kyogle Road following fatal and other serious crashes.
Director Engineering, David Oxenham welcomed the award and congratulated the project team for their hard work.
“The designers had to overcome a very steep embankment on the eastern side of the road and a very steep drop-off into the Tweed River on the western side.
“As the section of road was both culturally and environmentally significant, the project included consultation with the Tweed Byron Local Aboriginal Land Council and Council environmental scientists to avoid sensitive areas and minimise environmental impact.”
The annual awards are presented by the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA – NSW) and recognise innovation and excellence in local government and public works projects across the State including road safety, asset management and workplace health and safety.
The major excavation of the road’s eastern embankment allowed for improvements to road widths and realigned a series of tight curves.
Other safety improvements included audio-tactile line markings to prevent head-on collisions, guardrail to protect motorists from the steep drop-off and a high-friction road seal to improve skid resistance.
The award also recognised Council’s work with Transport for NSW to install interim measures to limit risk during the project’s development, including reducing the speed limit to 60km/h and installing a vehicle-activated speed sign.
“These improvements have successfully reduced the risk to motorists and there have been no reported crashes on this section of road since the completion of the project.”
The safety upgrade was supported by $786,000 of funding from the Federal Government’s Black Spot Program.
