Flood damage repairs will take years, says Phillips

FLOOD repairs to Loddon roads and halls are expected to take until June 2025 to finish.

The road repair bill has been put at $60 million, Loddon Shire said this week.

Operations director Steven Phillips said council was developing a panel of contractors to repair damage following the October flood emergency.

“The panel of contractors will be required to provide quotations on packets of work. The entire program is expected to be ongoing until June 2025,” Mr Phillips said.

Topping the list of council-owned or insured infrastructure damaged in the floods are Bridgewater Caravan Park, Newbridge Recreation Reserve, Durham Ox Hall, Fentons Creek Hall, Bridgewater swimming hole, fencing at Wedderburn’s Donaldson Park and canoe launchers along the Loddon River.

Internal walls at Durham Ox hall, managed by the local committee but insured through council, were removed last week ahead of repairs.

Mr Phillips said: “These (locations) are at various stages – with some being assessed and others currently being repaired. Council’s insurance agency is working through the details with the relevant community committees and council staff.

He said road assessments were also identifying opportunities for improvements.

“(However) the disaster recovery funding arrangement rules only allow funding to repair assets to their original condition – it does not cover improvements. Therefore, any road improvement costs must be covered by council,” Mr Phillips said.

“Some damage assessments have been postponed so the impacts from harvest traffic on flood-affected roads is captured.

“There has also been a need to reassess some roads as the damage has grown over time as traffic has travelled over them.

“To put the situation that council finds itself into perspective – council’s total road expenditure in the 2022-2023 Budget is $6.7 million.

“The estimated repair bill for the flood damage to council’s road assets is approximately $60 million.”

Mr Phillips said potential improvements had been identified at 45 culverts, 15 floodways, on 2km of sealed roads and one bridge.

“The improvement components of these works will be considered for funding through council’s future budgets,” he said.

“In getting roads on our network open and usable again, more than 2,000 tonnes of gravel has been used in 34 locations, with many more roads requiring grading. In order to get our roads useable within existing resources, council’s road management plan has been suspended.

“This means council’s usual road and footpath maintenance activities have been greatly reduced and we are not able to meet the repair timeframes as per that plan.

“As a result, council has seen an increase in customer requests for maintenance.

It is expected that the road management plan will remain suspended for a further six months. In the meantime, we ask the community to be patient and make sure you travel according to the conditions of the networks and adhere to the warning signs.”

The State Government announced an initial $165 million for road repairs in floodaffected council areas immediately after the October emergency.

Local road fix bill expected to rise

LODDON Shire’s road damage bill from the flood emergency is expected to grow.

Operations director Steven Phillips said about 95 per cent of the road network had been assessed and as the “data is reviewed over the coming weeks the damage tally will grow”.

The repair list already includes:

„ 117 culvert repairs or replacements

„ 56 floodway repairs

„ One bridge replacement - Spring Creek on Derby-Serpentine Road, Derby

„ 273km of gravel road re-sheets

„ Replacing 47km of unsealed road shoulders

„ 14.25km of sealed road to be rebuilt

“Council has had a team inspecting roads and capturing the damage in line with the State Government’s disaster recovery funding arrangements. This fund is there to help councils to restore their essential infrastructure such as roads after events such as the October floods,” Mr Phillips said.

Routes still closed

TWO roads near Boort remain closed almost four months after the October flood emergency.

Barraport-Minmindie Road and Billings Road are yet to re-open due to inundation, Loddon Shire said this week.

Operations director Steven Phillips said: “Since the floods in October 2022, council has been busy getting its road network open and safe for use.

“Over the duration of the flooding, at least 65 roads were closed for various lengths of time.

“If community members have an issue they would like to report they can contact council directly. Council takes its responsibility to provide a safe road network seriously and appreciates the community’s feedback. Council has designated staff who are responsible for taking these inquires.”

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