The LV 9047 road, main access to Gerb, reopened yesterday afternoon after remaining closed for nearly two months due to a large rockslide recorded on January 24. The incident forced the road to be closed for safety and also affected the municipality's power line.
The reopening occurred once the Road technicians of the Provincial Council completed almost all the planned action on the hillside. The intervention, valued at around 500,000 euros, has focused on an 80-meter high massif from which stones of up to 25 cubic meters fell.
Works on the hillside to reduce the risk
The works have allowed to fix the top of the slope and reduce the risk of new landslides. In the upper part, metallic meshes and anchors of more than 25 meters deep have been installed to reinforce the stability of the ground.
Starting Monday there will be intermittent closures on the road to finish the pending safety works. The mayor of Os de Balaguer, Estefanía Rufach, has specified that the road will not be considered fully normalized until the absence of risk is guaranteed.
"There will be specific cuts during the week until the slope improvement is completely finished" - Estefanía Rufach, mayor of Os de Balaguer
The total opening will depend on the danger disappearing
Rufach has explained that, although the risk has been lowered to the maximum, there are still finishes on the metallic structures placed in the affected area. These structures are twice as large as those that were there when the landslide occurred, a reinforcement that seeks to definitively consolidate this road access to Gerb.
The municipal forecast involves maintaining open traffic with specific disruptions while the last tasks on the hillside are finished. The road will remain completely open when the technicians deem the slope secured and rule out new episodes of instability.