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The Tweed's road network has been severely impacted by the recent flood with several major landslides, many bridges damaged and hundreds of road repairs recorded so far.
As floodwaters recede, Council's engineering team has been deployed across the Shire to assess the extent of the damage which is expected to exceed that of the devastating flood of 2017.
Works are being prioritised to ensure isolated communities are able to be accessed and resources delivered to those in need.
Several significant landslips – including on Tyalgum Road about 4km east of Tyalgum village, Scenic Drive at Bilambil Heights, and Reserve Creek Road at Reserve Creek – are of major concern and these roads are expected to be closed for many months while geotechnical assessments are made and repairs undertaken. Alternative routes will have to be taken by motorists until these repairs are completed.
Much of Kyogle Road also remains severely impacted from Byangum to the Shire boundary as this area received the worst of the rainfall. The road remains closed to Kyogle township due to landslips near the Shire boundary.
Temporary repairs have been undertaken at Byrrill Creek Bridge, Mount Warning Bridge and at Blacks Drain crossing on Tweed Valley Way at South Murwillumbah, to make them passable while further repair works are undertaken.
Hundreds of smaller road repairs will need to be undertaken to fix the damage across the road network. The repair list is likely to exceed the 1,600 jobs required after the 2017 flood.
Council's leadership team, including Tweed Mayor Chris Cherry, met with NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway late yesterday to brief him on the extent of the situation and the mammoth repair job ahead.
"We are grateful to the Minister for visiting our Shire and seeing for himself the sheer devastation that has occurred following last week's flood," Cr Cherry said.
"Our Council is pleased to see support from the State and Federal Governments to complete this huge repair job – it will require cooperation from all tiers of government to assist our team who are doing all they can to ensure the safety of our community at this stage."
Cr Cherry urged motorists to remain cautious on the roads and drive to conditions, with much of the road network remaining slippery and muddy as the clean-up gets underway.
Motorists are urged not to enter areas where a road is signed as being closed. Do not remove road closure signs as this may place other motorists at risk as they enter an area without being alerted to dangers.
Residents are also encouraged, where possible, to move their vehicles from the roadsides as they are now becoming a safety hazard and impeding clean-up crews.
Up-to-date information on Council's road network, including road closures and hazards, can be found at My Road Info, or via the Tweed Emergency Dashboard on Council's homepage.
