UPDATE: The first residents have walked into and out of the Megalong Valley along a narrow strip of the road which has been fenced off by Blue Mountains council.
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Pedestrians are allowed to move across the site of the landslip and collapsed road between 6.30am and 8.30am and between 3.30pm and 6pm.
Megalong's community association spokeswoman, Claudia Abbott, told the Gazette: "This is so they can work on the road for the temporary single lane access, which we have been told will be weeks. "
Mini-buses are operating to take residents to the site of the landslip where they can now safely walk to the other side.
APRIL 11, 9AM: Pedestrian access to the Megalong Valley at the landslide site will be available from today.
The access will initially be restricted to residents and employees of the valley, as well as essential services, each morning and afternoon.
"This interim arrangement allows us to provide some pedestrian access at the earliest convenience," said Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill.
"We will be working to improve this arrangement in the coming days, especially with regard to mobility access."
Blue Mountains CEO, Dr Rosemary Dillon said, restricted pedestrian access would ensure safety, and that road remediation works could continue as quickly as possible.
"A ground engineering construction crew will operate on a 10-hour shift at the landslide site, in order to allow temporary road stabilisation works to progress," she said.
"We want to get one-lane vehicle access operating again on Megalong Road, as soon as possible. This is essential for residents of the Megalong Valley, but also the businesses in the valley."
Council contractors, following NSW Public Works advice, have begun to use shotcrete to stabilise the site and enable the use of large soil nails and sheet piles to build a temporary one-lane access road.
The option of cutting into a rock wall at the site, explored by multiple geo-technical experts including those from NSW Public Works, was deemed not possible due to instability and safety concerns.
The second option of bringing in a Bailey Bridge - to bridge the landslip - was also not a preferred option due to the time it would take to install.
"Council continues to follow the advice of geotechnical experts, as we have since the first natural disaster occurred at Megalong Road," said Dr Dillon.
"Safety, for our residents and workers, will always be our absolute priority."
So far Blue Mountains City Council has provided 1,200 litres of fuel along with deliveries of food and essential supplies to the affected residents. Further drops occurred on Wednesday, April 10 with fresh food, pet food, fodder for livestock, nappies and other essential supplies being taken into Megalong Valley.
Once pedestrian access is available, via a constructed path running alongside the landslip site, shuttle buses will be available to ferry Megalong Valley community members to Blackheath and Katoomba, and back again, morning and afternoons.
Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill said the recovery efforts would require every level of government working together to support the community.
"This situation is urgent, and I praise the resilience of the Megalong community, as well as the efforts of emergency services and others who are assisting to support this tight-knit community," he said.
"The Megalong Valley is a special place which is a key tourism destination in Blue Mountains City. Getting access back into the Valley is our priority, for the sake of the local economy, along with supporting our community."
Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman said on Tuesday, April 9 she has been working closely with the mayor and State Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle since the landslide occurred.
"There is real urgency to identify short-term and longer-term solutions. I have been speaking with Megalong Valley residents and business owners and can't overstate the profound impact this isolation will cause both emotionally and economically and I'll be working to do everything I can to support them through this," she said.
"The response of emergency services and the community in these early days has been remarkable, but our focus now needs to be on reestablishing access as fast as possible, and that can only happen by all levels of government working collaboratively, which we will, of course, continue to do."
Blue Mountains City Council continues to advocate to state and federal governments for additional natural disaster funding support.
