Murray River Council: on the road to repair

Murray River Council: on the road to repair

Published on 31 May 2023

Murray River Council continues to make significant progress on the restoration of flood-damaged roads across the footprint.

Following a period of extensive assessments, Council's Infrastructure team has identified over 200 individual stretches of sealed and unsealed roads requiring repair.

But whilst some of these have been approved and completed, there's still quite a number to go through the approval process.

"It's been a mammoth task for our team, but we have now identified and compiled all flood-related damage to the road network and associated infrastructure," Mayor Chris Bilkey said.

"Whilst we've commenced or completed a good section of works, we are also still in the process of finalising the submissions required for review and approval by Transport for NSW, which is vital to secure funding for the comprehensive repair works."

All flood-related damages across Council's 3,200km road network must be assessed by Transport for NSW before funding will be approved under the NSW Natural Disaster Recovery Program.

"We understand the urgency of restoring the road infrastructure, but it is crucial to obtain this approval otherwise we have no hope of funding it, so we really do appreciate the community's patience and support during this phase," Cr Bilkey said.

Emergency works, executed promptly in the initial recovery response, have also contributed to Council's recent workload as the teams undertook emergency repairs to restore access on critical road routes.

These emergency repairs will continue to be maintained until approved reconstruction works can commence, ensuring the ongoing safety and accessibility for residents and motorists.

To date, the approved roads that have been repaired and completed include:

• Barham Road (200m² of sealed pavement restoration and 130m of shoulder material replacement).
• Barmah Road (6,310m² of sealed pavement restoration).
• Milgate Road (1,000m of unsealed road surface restoration and 20m of replacement material).
• Millewa Road (1,080m of unsealed road surface restoration and 1,160m of replacement material).
• Nineteen Mile Road (3,170m of replacement material).
• Officer Road (1,560m of replacement material).
• Sandy Bridge Road (1,940m of unsealed road surface restoration).

Significant approved works in progress also include sections of:

• Aratula Road.
• Dungala Way.
• Maude Road.
• Noorong Road.
• Old Barmah Road.
• Picnic Point Road.
• Riverside Caravan Park Access Road.
• Tarragon Road.

While focusing on meeting the critical deadline of June 30 for the approved work, Council have maintained steady progress despite having to balance other priorities.

But the balance has not been without challenges for the Council team.

"Challenges relating to works programming and getting things completed have predominantly arisen from non-flood related projects," Cr Bilkey said.

"We obtained funding to undertake a schedule of works this current financial year, but a large portion of this was put-on-hold when the flood event occurred."

"But with external funding comes external deadlines too, so we need to get these works completed or risk losing the support."

These works include major road restoration projects such as Centre Road, Kyalite Road, North Barham Road and Wakool Road.

"Our team has been tirelessly working to accommodate these delayed works while simultaneously striving to restore community access on the flood-damaged roads," Cr Bilkey said.

"It's definitely been a challenge, but we are proud of the consolidated efforts of our dedicated works team."

Any reconstruction works not completed by June 30 will be allocated to another stage of the recovery program with an updated deadline of 30 June 2025.

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