Wisemans Ferry Road Natural Disaster Recovery

2021-2022 natural disasters and storm events saw several sites along Wisemans Ferry Road experience widespread damage to the road pavement and embankments.

Restoring Wisemans Ferry Road

Construction work to restore Wisemans Ferry Road to its pre-disaster function and enhance its resilience to future natural disasters began in 2024 and is making great progress.

Disaster Recovery Funding

Central Coast Council has secured $37.35 million in funding from the Australian and NSW Government under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). This funding supports natural disaster recovery works along Wisemans Ferry Road.

The project aims to:

Restore the road to its pre-disaster condition
Improve its resilience to future natural disasters.

This investment is part of the Essential Public Asset Reconstruction and the Regional Roads Transport Recovery Package initiatives.

Project details: Greengrove

Concept illustration of a reinforced soil wall proposed for Greengrove

Funding: $8.99 million
Status: Construction phase
Construction timeline: Commenced February 2026 and expected to be completed by December 2026.

The works will involve:

Construction of a 30m long reinforced soil wall
Construction of 105m of soil nail shotcrete wall, spread across 3 individual downslope embankment sites
Minor embankment stabilisation, void filling, crack sealing and guardrail repairs at 5 sites
Rehabilitation of over 1200m² of road pavement
Scaling and stabilisation of 7 minor upslope site.

Read the funding announcement.

Project details: Spencer to Wisemans Ferry Landing

Funding: $28.36 million
Status: Completed January 2026
Construction timeline: Commenced mid-2024 and completed January 2026.

Extensive slope, embankment and road pavement works have been progressing across multiple locations along this stretch of Wisemans Ferry Road since mid-2024. These works include:

Road pavement rehabilitation covering approximately 7km of full-width roadway was completed in mid-2025.
Landslip works to repair and stabilise the road embankment, road pavement and upslope failures at over 40 sites.

These works include:

Construction of soil nail shotcrete walls
Installation of sandstone block walls
Placement of rock revetment
Implementation of horizontal subsoil drainage.

Read the funding announcement.

Key milestones

December 2024

Embankment stabilisation works were completed on a section of Wisemans Ferry Road previously impacted by landslips and prone to repeated wet weather closures. As a result, temporary road closures during heavy rainfall are no longer required. Read more about this milestone.
Mid-2025

The single-lane section of the road was reinstated to two operational traffic lanes, improving traffic flow and safety.
August 2025

Construction progressed at a second significant embankment failure site, allowing Council to lift the 15-tonne load limit that had been in place for over 8 years along that stretch of Wisemans Ferry Rd.
January 2026

Road crews have completed repairs and betterment works at more than 40 landslip sites along Wisemans Ferry Road at Spencer and Gunderman, with Council delivering the works on time to restore safer travel for the community.

Traffic and safety

Traffic control is in place to ensure motorists travel safely though the area. Road users are advised to take care, follow signage and allow extra travel time. Some construction works will require night-time full road closures and electronic messaging boards are being used to notify motorists and residents in advance.

Residents are encouraged to continue to check for updates and information on planned and unplanned road closures as listed on our road closure webpage.

Background

Two sections of the road embankment on Wisemans Ferry Road at Gunderman were severely damaged by weather events in 2012. The natural disaster flooding and storm events of 2021-22 further impacted Wisemans Ferry Road, exacerbating damage at the two existing sites, as well as creating widespread additional damage to the road pavement and embankments, with landslides and rockfalls occurring at multiple locations at through Spencer, Gunderman and Greengrove.

Immediate emergency works were undertaken by Council to reinstate road access and ensure safe use of the road. Signage and barriers were put in place at some sections, with reduced speed limits and the narrowing of the road to a single lane. One section (approx. 10km west of Spencer) required full road closures during heavy rain events due to slope instability and driver safety.

Since this time, Council have completed remediation work at several sites and undertaken road pavement works totalling 7km. Council have continued to work with specialist geotechnical and engineering consultants to develop stabilisation solutions to the multiple failures along Wisemans Ferry Road. This investigative work has enabled Council to proactively apply for the significant grant funding required to proceed with the specialist design and construction of more permanent works to restore and improve the road infrastructure to better withstand severe weather events and natural disasters.

Funding

A significant amount of funding is required to fully restore and improve resilience of the road infrastructure on Wisemans Ferry Road.

Council has worked closely with the Australian and NSW Governments through Transport of NSW to secure the required funding as part of the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) programs.

Funding secured includes:

Funding under the Essential Public Asset Reconstruction Works (EPAR) to carry out repairs and restore the road to its pre-disaster function
Funding under Regional Roads and Transport Recovery Program (RRTRP) to make the road more resilient to future natural disaster damage.