Morwell Land Movement Community Update - 11 July 2011
Monday, 11 July 2011
Incident history
A major rain event in early February caused a large amount of water to enter the Morwell Main Drain inside the boundary of Hazelwood’s coal mine. This caused some land movement and cracking which affected the Princes Freeway. The Princes Freeway was closed at Morwell in both directions and traffic is being diverted through the Morwell township. The Emergency Management Team (EMT), made up of key agencies and stakeholders and headed by Incident Controller Superintendent Tess Walsh, is working to ensure the safety of the area.
Update
There has been no significant ground movement in recent weeks. No further changes were detected by the monitoring equipment following the magnitude 4.4MG earthquake at Korumburra last Tuesday. The Department of Primary Industries and Hazelwood are close to coming to an agreement on the drain design. It is expected to be completed in the coming weeks. In addition to works on the drain, more drainage holes and monitors are required. These will be undertaken concurrently to avoid further delays. Based on the work done to date and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the reopening of the Princes Freeway is now a matter of ‘when’ and not ‘if’.
FAQs
Why are we still treating this as an emergency?
Police have maintained the control agency function of the Emergency Management Team for two primary reasons – the complexity of the event and the potential risk to community safety.
How do you reverse the impacts of the water on the Main Drain and therefore the forces on the batter?
The focus has been on draining the groundwater build up to relieve any pressures exerted by water forcing its way into natural fissures in the sub-surface environment and reducing the permeability of the current Main Drain. Identifying and implementing future improvements to drainage infrastructure will be very important as part of a longer term solution.
What methods are you going to use to reinforce the freeway once it’s reopened?
The Emergency Management Team and geotechnical experts are continuing with their investigations. A significant amount of work has been undertaken and important data has been gathered to provide a detailed understanding of the complex nature of this incident. This data is currently being assessed to determine whether any actions are required to stabilise the affected area including the freeway.
At the pedestrian crossing on Commercial Road it is difficult to access the pedestrian lights. They used to be ‘on-demand’ lights, are they still? Are they going to go back to normal when the freeway reopens?
The pedestrian lights on Commercial Road have been slightly altered to manage the competing demands of vehicles and pedestrians within the centre of Morwell. Once the freeway reopens, VicRoads, in consultation with Victoria Police and Latrobe City Council, will review the pedestrian lights at this section of road.
Communication
For more information please visit: www.police.vic.gov.au
Updates will also be sent out via the Department of Justice’s Twitter feed: twitter.com/justice_vic