Murrumbidgee Council roads suffering accelerated wear and tear

The exceptionally wet season has accelerated the wear and tear on the shire’s roads despite efforts to maintain them in the face of constant rain, council’s general manager Craig Moffitt said.

"Considering how wet it has been, our works staff are doing an excellent job," Mr Moffitt said.

"They are finding that the potholes are getting deeper and wider with every weather event. 

“We need additional funds to manage our roads after this wet season to have any hope to bring them back to a safe level. We had 14 roads that were a concern but we are also not the worst affected by this rain.”

During last week’s Local Representation Committee (LRC) meeting held in Jerilderie, members passed a motion to write to the minister requesting that he, or a representative, attend the LGNSW Conference in Wollongong from October 16 to 18, to address the issues of significant deterioration of regional and rural roads in the area.

Council has an ongoing roads maintenance program where any issues are addressed and the road is repaired and made safe for drivers, but the weather has prevented teams keeping pace with the deterioration.

The Murrumbidgee River is now expected to peak on Tuesday, October 11 at a height of 6.7 metres –  higher than the original peak of 6.5m.

The SES predicts that at that height, the river will inundate the rural floodplains, which are already waterlogged from the rainfall the area has endured over the last several months. Water will also cross the Sturt Highway at “Tubbo”, 15 kilometres east of Darlington Point.

The Darlington Point Caravan and Tourist Park will also become waterlogged if the peak does reach the 6.7m mark. No caravans have been allowed on site for almost a fortnight and the cabins were closed at the end of last week.

With minimal rain forecast for the rest of the week the peak is not expected to get higher than predicted, so the town should be safe behind the seven-metre levee. 

For help in flood contact the SES on 132 500