FOLLOWING LENGTHY delays on Kennedy Drive this week Tweed Shire Council has announced that two lanes will open to traffic for the entire weekend.
There will be one lane open to traffic in each direction, motorists, however, are advised to travel to suit the partly reconstructed condition of the road.
Road reconstruction works will then resume at 7am on Monday (October 30).
Then, on Tuesday (November 1), which is Melbourne Cup Day, there will be no work on Kennedy Drive as materials supply cannot be guaranteed and two lanes will again be open to traffic for that day. However, there will be some testing work occurring on Gollan Drive, between Lakes Drive and St Kilda Crescent, for up to three hours after the morning peak. One lane will be closed during this time, with stop / slow flagmen managing the traffic through the remaining single lane. Motorists should expect delays.
Work on Kennedy Drive will resume again at 7am on Wednesday (November 2).
On Friday, October 28 workers reported very heavy traffic volumes, which at times backed up close to the Pacific Motorway prompting a call to stop work to clear the traffic in both directions.
Council continues to advise motorists to avoid Kennedy Drive and use the alternate route of Bilambil and Terranora roads which adds just 15-20 minutes to a trip.
The timed delays through the roadworks on Friday, October 28 were greater than 20 minutes.
Friday saw the road reconstruction contractors apply 420 tonnes of deep-lift asphalt and are on track to complete the deep-lift work on the northern lanes in three days, by the end of work next Wednesday.
Finally there will be three more days to apply the wearing surface which will complete five years of work at a cost of $9 million of improvements to the road and its underground water and stormwater services.