How we plan to fix flood damaged roads

Published on 04 November 2022

Horsham Rural City Council staff are carrying out inspections of roads that were inundated by recent floods.

Infrastructure Director John Martin said some the extent of damage is still being assessed.

“There’s a bit of a process. We have to carry out an engineering assessment of the damage then estimate costs and apply to the government for disaster funding," Mr Martin said.

“The event has been declared an eligible disaster so Council can seek funding to repair the roads and other damaged essential public assets.

“We have a number of roads that require urgent repairs following the flood event which started in mid-October which we will tackle as a priority.

“Our entire road network including bridges will be inspected as part of this disaster.  This will take at least four weeks to complete due to the extent of the damage to our network.

“We ask the community for patience as we go through the strict process required by the funding arrangements. Following previous disasters we know this will ensure we can get the best results for our community.

“The funding requirements also stipulate who must complete this work and when. So we will be working with our local contractors around availability and scope of works.  Like in 2011 and 2016, this is a significant project and needs to be done properly rather than as a quick-fix. Council understands that everyone’s road will be their priority,” Mr Martin said.

Dozens of Council and State-owned roads were flooded and sustained water damage to pavement, shoulders, culverts, bridges and drains, especially in rural areas south of Horsham.

The continuing rain, likelihood of more, and already high water content in the ground means there is potential for further impacts.

“Where we have been able to open up roads, we have done it as soon as possible,” Mr Martin said.

“Where we need to close roads for our community safety, we will.

“We have been receiving a lot of customer requests and thank our residents for letting us know about their issues.

“We’ll do the most urgent works as soon as possible but can’t fix everything straight away. We ask residents to be patient.”