Laughtondale Gully Road roadworks complete

Multiple major roadworks along its length, totalling $300,000 had to be completed for it to be considered safe for road users again.  

“It was unclear if we could ever make it safe and would therefore have to close it permanently, but council’s engineers worked extremely hard to find workable solutions,” Mayor Ruddock said.

The Gazette did a story on the road in March this year, when angry residents wanted to know when it would be fixed. A Wisemans Ferry resident said using Laughtondale Gully Road cut 15km off a trip to Windsor.

Nick Vargasoff said the road was closed in May last year for repairs.

“It was supposed to be reopened by end of last year,” he said. “About 60 or 70 people use the road frequently. If you’re going to Windsor or Hornsby it would cut $10 off your petrol bill for the whole trip. Also in an emergency it’s an alternative way out.”  

He said some residents had been shifting the barriers and still using it. 

The main part of the work involved the stabilisation of a number of sections of road that were at risk of collapsing, as well as the sealing of one of the particularly hazardous hairpin bends.

Seven new cross drains were also installed, while the existing cross drains were cleared and new guide posts put in place.

“I would like to sincerely thank the local residents for their patience throughout this process,” Mr Ruddock said.

“Safety is always council’s absolute top priority when managing roads and convenience, unfortunately, must finish a very distant second. With the opening of this road we now have both safety and convenience once again.”

Hornsby Council paid for the roadworks.