Ballina drivers face a difficult run into Christmas, with Ross Lane to close for nine weeks while major roadworks continue on other key approaches to town.

But there is good news at the end of it.

Ballina Shire Council has confirmed on its website that construction on the Ross Lane Flood Resilience Project will begin on October 1, with the road fully closed to through traffic from October 19 until December 18.

Provided the weather cooperates and there are no unexpected construction delays, Ross Lane should reopen a week before Christmas.  Council says the overall project is expected to be completed by Christmas. 

The timing means the disruption will coincide with the traditionally busy pre-Christmas period, with about 8,400 vehicles normally using Ross Lane each day.

Many drivers travelling between Lennox Head and Ballina are likely to instead head south towards Angels Beach Drive, potentially adding pressure to Tamarind Drive and River Street.

And that’s where the traffic squeeze could become particularly noticeable.

The $85 million Ballina Bridges Duplication project is now under construction at both Canal Bridge on Tamarind Drive and Fishery Creek Bridge on River Street.

Both bridges will remain open, but changed traffic conditions during construction can include narrow lanes, lane closures, altered merges, reduced speed limits and short traffic stoppages. 

Adding another complication, Council announced on Friday that separate flood-recovery work at the corner of Old Bangalow Road and Tamarind Drive is expected to begin in mid-October and continue for about five weeks. 

That means the Ross Lane shutdown and several other significant road projects will overlap as Ballina heads towards Christmas.

Closure saves up to $800,000

The Ross Lane disruption is the result of a deliberate decision by councillors at their August meeting.

Council awarded a $3.19 million construction contract to Hazell Bros and unanimously backed an option requiring Ross Lane to be closed to through traffic for approximately nine weeks.

Building a temporary sidetrack to keep traffic moving would have added an estimated $500,000 to $800,000 to the cost of the project, as well as creating additional construction, property access and utility risks.

Council therefore opted for the full closure. 

The project will replace the existing Deadmans Creek culvert with a new single-span bridge and raise Ross Lane on either side of the crossing.

It won’t make Ross Lane flood-proof, but it is designed to substantially reduce the frequency of closures during flooding.

The road currently has a long history of going under during heavy rain, sometimes closing several times a year.

Council says the new crossing is being designed around a 20 per cent Annual Exceedance Probability flood, broadly a flood with a one-in-five chance of occurring in any given year. Larger floods will still be capable of putting water over the road. 

Short-term pain, long-term gain

Ross Lane is an important link between Lennox Head, Ballina, Tintenbar, Alstonville, Wollongbar and Lismore, so removing it from the road network for nine weeks will inevitably put pressure elsewhere.

And the timing could hardly be busier.

The bridge duplication works on Tamarind Drive and River Street are expected to continue through 2027, while the additional Tamarind Drive flood-recovery project will overlap with much of the Ross Lane closure. 

But there is considerable good news behind all those roadworks.

Ballina is in the middle of an unprecedented investment in roads and bridges designed to reduce congestion and make critical transport links more resilient to future floods.

And, if the weather plays its part, Ross Lane drivers should get an early Christmas present.