Historic engineering solution rocks Gold Coast road restoration
Since their invention by the Egyptians around 7,000 years ago, gabions have proven particularly useful in a variety of applications.
Created to control floodwaters from the river Nile and prevent erosion, the rock-filled baskets have also long been used by the military to protect bases and troops, and in civil engineering projects like retaining walls, noise barriers, dams, and roadworks.
Gabions, unlike solid walls, are designed to let water flow through their structure in a controlled manner.
As the water seeps through, pressure behind a gabion is reduced, minimising the chance of soil loss and landslips.
Gabions were a crucial element of work to restore Currumbin Creek Road on the Gold Coast following extensive damage caused by a series of extreme weather events in 2021 and 2022.
Damage was particularly severe along the two-kilometre stretch between Bourke Lodge Drive and Galleon Way, which runs adjacent to Currumbin Creek.
Geotechnical investigations found the flooding had significantly eroded the creek bank and in doing so had damaged the road surface.
Emergency works by Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) removed debris, repaired the pavement, and prevented further erosion.
Subsequent work focused on stabilising the creek bank to minimise erosion and prevent additional pavement damage.
From a project delivery and overall resilience standpoint, gabions offered an effective, value-for-money solution.
Leaving no stone unturned, more than 5,000 tonnes of rock were used in approximately 1,100 gabion baskets at five targeted sites on the creek's edge.
In the early stages of reconstruction works in mid-2023, it was also necessary to remove some vegetation between the road and the creek bed to enable installation of the gabion baskets.
It was a delicate operation as all sites required reconstruction works to be undertaken behind sheet piling in the creek due to works occurring below the tide level.
Accordingly, TMR focused on limiting the impact on the surrounding environment, carefully balancing the need to remediate damage while minimising further impacts on the ecosystem.
TMR worked with designers to not only protect the local environment but also promote the recolonisation of mangroves that aid in bank stabilisation and provide habitat for juvenile fish.
Work on two sites was completed in the first quarter of 2024, another two sites reached completion in August 2024, and the fifth site wrapped up in April 2025.
All repair and reconstruction works were jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
This included through the 2021-22 Betterment Program, which allowed pavement strengthening on the road to be carried out, further enhancing a great outcome for the local community.
