Road works on a contaminated site at Beardow Street in Lismore Heights are finally complete after months of delays.

The completed works include bitumen sealing and weed matting over the embankment which will be planted out in March.

The landslip, which occurred in the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie in 2017, has been an ongoing headache for Lismore Council due to the discovery of asbestos contaminated soil there.

The cost to fix it was originally estimated at $1.2 million and was to be borne by the Federal Govt under the Natural Distaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).

But work was halted when it was found the site was ridden with asbestos which the NDRRA would not pay to have removed.

In June this year, The Lismore App reported the remediation works would cost an $2 million, and more time to fix.

After a court battle between the council and a landowner over access to the site, the state and federal governments contributed $2.4 million earlier this year to ensure the project could be completed.

Councils’ Director of Infrastructure Services Peter Jeuken said “council is still waiting to hear back from the NSW Environment Protection Authority following testing to determine if the waste material exposed during the initial landslip extended to other areas of the road reserve”. 

“We will advise residents once we are notified by the EPA,” he said.

“Unfortunately, the planned repairs of Noel Street have been delayed due to the large scope of the work. 

“Repairs are now expected to start in early January and take about four weeks.

“Council recognises that the road works has significantly impacted on residents and we apologise for any inconvenience.

“We are currently offering a house cleaning service to remove dust from those homes which were directly adjacent to the landslip work."