The Council has provided the latest progress report for the mountainside repairs at the Treherbert end of Rhigos Mountain Road – and the scheme continues to progress in line with the timescales set at the start of the work.
The mountain road between Treherbert and Rhigos was closed from July 22 as an absolutely necessary measure to ensure safety during a major, complex remediation scheme. This is needed to rectify damage previously caused by a large wildfire – to a significant area of the mountainside, netting and fencing.
The essential work is being carried out at the earliest opportunity this summer and autumn, to ensure the road remains available into the future. If left any longer, it was possible that the rockface could deteriorate and an emergency closure would be required over a much longer period than the current works.
Rhigos Mountain Road closure – Frequently Asked Questions
The Council has made it clear that the road cannot remain open while the work goes ahead, to ensure safety. Heavy machinery and specialist access equipment are being used to reach the rockface’s full height – as illustrated in the latest site images – while there is also a risk of debris falling onto the road.
The final, agreed-upon design to rectify the hillside damage incorporates a combination of specialist geotechnical solutions. These include an attenuator system, a rock fall barrier, and active and passive rock netting systems.
The previous progress update on August 19 noted key landmarks in the early stages of work – from setting up the site to installing rock anchors, vegetation removal, testing the rock bolts, and beginning to drill the main rock bolts.
Progress update – week commencing Monday, September 9
Drilling of low-level rock bolts has progressed across the site, concluding at the location where the concrete barriers and traffic lights were previously placed as an interim measure due to risk of rockfall. This was a slow process, but has been completed.
One of the main current activities on site is to install large rockfall attenuators. This is essentially the installation of a large technical fencing system to catch rockfall, which starts from the crest of the rockface and continues right down to the bottom, adjacent to the road.
Reinforced concrete foundations are currently being cast to support the system. This includes large posts being fixed to the rock and the ground at specific tolerances, along with high-tensile steel meshing. This is a permanent solution to control future rockfall, and will be installed in the coming weeks. It represents a large upgrade on the previous system that was in place.
Other recent activity has included the removal of large pieces of rock from the hillside, which has been completed in a controlled manner by the contractor. One such rock was estimated to weigh three tonnes.
The contractor continues to maximise the work activities on site with several areas of work programmed concurrently – taking due account of access needs to ensure work at height is undertaken safely and securely at all times.
However, there remains a lot of work to be done within the programme, and much of this work is dependent upon fair weather. The Council will keep residents fully up-to-date on the works progress in the weeks ahead.
A spokesperson for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: “Our appointed contractor has used the summer months very well, and we are now more than half-way through these major works. Overall, positive progress has been made and we are still on course to complete the scheme, and reopen the mountain route to motorists, within the timescales indicated.
“However, much of the upcoming work is heavily weather dependent, and now we’ve entered the autumn months there is a greater chance of rain and wind – especially on our mountain roads. For example, some planned works had to be re-scheduled recently as it was too unsafe to work at such a height during strong winds. Our contractor will continue to look ahead and plan all major site activities for times when the best weather is forecast.
“We continue to thank road users for their patience and cooperation while this essential scheme enters its final weeks, as we ensure the mountain route is available into the future. We absolutely recognise the inconvenience that the road closure is causing – but we have a responsibility to fix the mountainside and that cannot be done safely with motorists using the road below."
Posted on 12/09/2024