Mersey Forest Road - Alternate Access

[north-north-west]

Snoopy.jpg (58.09 KiB) Viewed 22001 times

[onward]

Damn it really did happen

[Tortoise]

As for Arm River Track, before the floods, "normal" access was via Maggs Mountain. However, as far as I know, Maggs Road has not been fully cleared yet. Commercial walk operators have been picking their guests up from Arm Road where the bridge was removed about 1km north of the Arm River Track car park access road. It will be interesting to see what Parks say when they announce Mersey Forest Road is back.

Apparently the fallen timber on the Maggs Rd loop to the start of the Arm River track is now cleared. A friend drove in to the ART trackhead the other day. I couldn't find anything on the Parks website to say that. She didn't check out the last part of the Magg Spur 17 track, so not sure about that bit.

[shortstep]

I walked into Pelion Hut via the Arm River track in the last three days. The Mersey Forest Road is now open along with the Maggs Road to the Arm River Track car park. The trees that had fallen over the Arm River track have been cut off & track is a little overgrown with low scrub but otherwise very easy to walk on. It was amazing to see the damage the flood had done at Martha Creek and the landslide on Maggs Road. Well done to the construction guys that have made a fanatastic repair job on the roads.

[grant evans]

Well said mate, the damage looked bad enough on the YouTube videos, but to stand next to it and see it with your own eyes the washouts were enormous, I honestly didn't know how on earth they were going to repair them. So to all involved, Forestry, Parks, Department of state growth, state and federal governments and Shaw Contracting I say a big thank you for a job well done!

[Davo1]

From Parks & Wildlife FB page

Access to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park and the Lake Augusta Road
Walls of Jerusalem - The Mersey Forest Road is closed at the Fish River just before the turn off to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park car park. Forestry Tasmania are undertaking essential repairs to the Fish River bridge which requires the removal and transportation of the bridge to Launceston via the Mersey Forest Road. It is expected the repair works will take approximately six weeks with access to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park car park available from the end of June 2017.
Due to recent and predicted rainfall the Parks and Wildlife Service has closed the Lake Augusta Road boom gate at Lake Augusta dam wall to prevent further road damage. There is now no convenient vehicular access to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park via the Central Plateau. For information on access to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park and other local walking opportunities please contact the Great Western Tiers field centre on 6701 2104.
Lake Augusta Road – the Lake Augusta Road is now closed at the Lake Augusta dam wall. The Lake Augusta Road is closed each year at the end of the inland fishing season to protect the road from significant damage caused by vehicles driving in heavy wet and snowy conditions. The road is closed over winter and early spring and is usually opened again in early October after the chance of heavy snow falls and spring rains has reduced. The road condition is assessed regularly during September and a decision to open the boom gate is made when the conditions are suitable. For more information on Lake Augusta Road please contact the Great Western Tiers field centre on 6701 2104.

[DanR]

Great news! I can't wait for the easier route to the walls to reopen.

[Overlandman]

Just heard on LAFM news that the road to the Walls is finally open.
Regards OLM

Story from the Mercury

http://www.themercury.com.au/lifestyle/ ... 955c27755b

Last edited by Overlandman on Fri 30 Jun, 2017 9:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[tastrax]

Parks Facebook

Good news for access to the Walls of Jerusalem

Driver access to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park has today been restored with the reopening of the Fish River Bridge on the Mersey Forest Road.
The road was badly damaged by the floods of June 2016. Today the Fish River Bridge was reopened, allowing direct vehicle access to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park main parking area and the remaining full length of the Mersey Forest Road.

[north-north-west]

*sings* Oh Happy Day etc

Wonder what the track to Rinadina Falls is like . . .

[Geevesy]

It is good news.

Any news regarding the accessibility of the Arm River area?

[north-north-west]

Well, a mate of mine has been fbing some shots of a walk in via Arm River yesterday, so I think we can assume it's accessible.

[norts]

I walked into Pelion Hut last weekend via the Arm River. No problems getting to the track.

[Haydynb]

Rinadeena...accessable but apparently you can't get anywhere close to the old bridge. Road is closed bout 1k before it...makes the walk about 18ks...

[NickMonk]

Rinadeena...accessable but apparently you can't get anywhere close to the old bridge. Road is closed bout 1k before it...makes the walk about 18ks...

Can you confirm that this means the walk now is only 1km longer to the falls, given that you used to park at the bridge and walk from there? I thought it would be worse than this, tbh.

[Haydynb]

Hey Nick...yes but a k each way i think. Total is 18ks now, was around 16k from the old bridge

[Nuts]

"The Parks and Wildlife Service are performing road works on the Upper Mersey Forest Road. These works represent the last of the outstanding works on Mersey Forest Road from the June 2016 flood event, the works will involve earth works, vegetation removal and use of heavy machinery.

The works are required in order to mitigate critical erosion issues within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) and to provide appropriate visitor access.

The section of road between the Lees Paddock car park and Jacksons Creek car park will be closed for two weeks (between 16 May and 30 May 2018), please see Closure point Section 1 on the attached map. Alternate access to the Cloister Track during this time will be via Lake Bill (please add an extra day for this route).

Mersey Forest Road will be closed near Juno Creek for three days (30 May to 1 June 2018). There will be no access to the Lees Paddocks, Pine Hut Plain, Lake Bill or Cloister tracks during this time, please see Closure point Section 2 on the attached map.

Machinery will be operating with the road open for the remainder of the works (from 4 June for 3-4 weeks). Visitors can access the site but are advised to proceed with caution and observe any road works or speed limiting signage.

Please note that the works schedule and closure dates are subject to weather and progress. Any changes to the scheduled closure dates will be communicated to you directly and included on the Track and Reserve Closure section of the PWS Website.

The Parks and Wildlife Service apologises for any inconvenience. If you have any enquiries, you can do so via return email or call 03 6701 2104. "