What's happening with flood recovery on our roads?
Responding to high priority road hazards caused by weather events
Issued 26 May 2022
The 2022 flood was the worst in the Tweed’s recorded history
The February and March 2022 flood was a major natural disaster – the worst in the Tweed’s recorded history. It will take time to recover and rebuild. It is expected to take at least 2 years to fully repair all of the damage to the Tweed’s road network.
It’s a big job. Council is responsible for looking after more than 1,000 km of sealed roads and about 170 km of unsealed gravel roads. Most of these roads suffered some sort of damage in the flood.
Unfortunately, as a result, residents will experience unavoidable inconveniences such as longer trips on detours, increased petrol costs and traffic delays where repairs are being carried out.
Many roads were affected
There are almost 2,500 flood-related road repairs to be undertaken. This number does not include other road maintenance items, such as potholes which were not directly caused by the flood but have occurred due to the relentless rain that has fallen since the flood events.
There is a lot to do, but we in particular need to accommodate impacted communities at Bilambil Heights, Carool and Terranora as well as Tyalgum, Chillingham, Uki and Reserve Creek. These residents are driving on long detours on roads affected by potholes.
Despite these significant challenges, we’re working hard to build, upgrade and maintain a safe and connected local road network.
Repairs are difficult in the rain
Like everyone in the Tweed, we wish the rain would go away too.
While it is raining, and the holes are full of water and the pavement is saturated, short-term pothole treatments are all that is available.
The long wet period has raised water tables in low-lying areas, so it is not just surface water we are battling with. Some of the holes refill with water as soon as we try to patch them up.
Our patching trucks need dry conditions to be effective and are struggling to get ahead of the weather and repeated damage as the wet weather continues.
Repairs are also slower in the rain, as our maintenance staff have to apply cold mix manually. This is an effective treatment but slower than the patching our trucks can achieve.
We are also trying to rectify further damage to flood repair locations such as the gravel patches on Kyogle and Numinbah roads and the approaches to numerous causeways in the hinterland.
We are prioritising where we repair potholes
Our road crews are responding to pothole and other road surface issues reported by the public and by our own staff. These need to be prioritised due to their number and geographical range across the Tweed.
Generally, we target repairs on our highest volume, highest speed roads like Tweed Valley Way and Tweed Coast Road and anywhere that significant safety issues occur.
We are also targeting those roads that are taking more traffic than normal due to flood damage closures, including Bilambil, Terranora, Limpinwood and Numinbah roads.
We have plans for more permanent repairs
Several segments of affected roads are planned to undergo rehabilitation works, asphalt resurfacing and bitumen resealing, to provide long- term repairs and reduce potholing. These works cannot be performed in the wet and are now delayed with our contractors.
Our flood recovery and regular road maintenance schedules are published on our website.
We are underway with a plan for landslip repairs
We are working towards a permanent solution for major landslips on Scenic Drive, Tyalgum Road, Reserve Creek Road and other multiple locations, but it will take time.
Ongoing wet weather conditions and a shortage of experienced contractors are exacerbating the situation.
Geotechnical assessments by independent engineering experts in their field are required to determine the severity of the landslips and the best way to repair the roads to ensure ongoing safety for motorists. These geotechnical reports provide the technical basis upon which permanent solutions for these slips can be designed and built.
Currently, we are preparing tender documentation to issue to the market to consider the geotechnical information on the various landslips and provide options back to Council and Transport for NSW for rectification.
At this stage, it is difficult to estimate the time required by the contractor to complete the works as it is dependent on the geotechnical solution as well as the expertise and resource availability of contractors.
Repairs to Scenic Drive, Tyalgum Road and Reserve Creek Road are expected to take up to 12 months to complete. While this is not good news for residents affected by these closures, there are a number of necessary steps Council has to undertake before these badly damaged roads can be reopened.
- 1Geotechnical procurement and reports
- 2Funding submissions
- 3Design and construction tender
- 4Environmental assessment
- 5Consultation with the community
- 6Construction
A typical construction process to fix significant damage such as those sustained along Scenic Drive, Tyalgum Road and Reserve Creek Road would involve site establishment, excavation of slip areas, foundation works, wall construction or stabilisation, structural works as well as earthworks, drainage, road sub-base, pavement, line marking and safety barrier works.
A temporary road is not an option for landslips
Experts in the landslip engineering field have told us establishing a temporary alternative road around the Scenic Drive, Tyalgum Road and Reserve Creek Road landslips would not be safe. We cannot guarantee the safety of the slopes.
There is an alternative route for those affected by landslips. While it may take longer, Bilambil Road, Terranora Road, Fraser Drive, Zara Road, Limpinwood Road and Numinbah Road have the capacity to handle the extra traffic safely. Drivers are urged to drive to conditions, allow extra time for their trips and exercise patience with people who might be less familiar with these roads.
We have increased inspections of these roads for any maintenance and repairs that may be required.
Rate deferral is available
Rate deferral assistance is available for ratepayers who can demonstrate impact or hardship arising from the flood.
Rate relief cannot be offered to ratepayers affected by road closures as this would impact Council’s ability to repair the road network.
Council has to cover the cost of road maintenance on our roads. NSW Government’s flood financial assistance does not extend to road maintenance.
Rates income is crucial for the repair and maintenance of our roads. For every $100 of rates Council receives, $21 is spent on roads, transport, drainage and flooding. Find out more about how your rates are spent.
Stay informed
Find out more about Council’s plan to safely repair landslips and other road damage through the Flood Recovery Dashboard. Stay up to date with what’s happening on our roads through the Roadworks and closures page. Stay informed, subscribe to the Tweed Link, Council’s media releases and following Council’s Facebook page.
How to report problems
- Report life-threatening emergencies by calling "000" (triple zero)
- Report urgent hazards by phone on 02 6670 2400 at any time – this includes reporting road closures, flooded roads, fallen trees and debris on roads and landslips
- Report non urgent hazards online on our roads and bridges page.
Please don’t use social media to report problems.
To help us keep our local roads safe, view our fact sheet(PDF, 288KB).
Download a print-friendly version of this update(PDF, 298KB).