Repairs start on hundreds of roads wrecked by Murray floods – while others damaged a year ago still wait for work
Repair work is starting on the nearly 1200km of roads affected by the River Murray floods, even as roads damaged by widespread flooding a year ago remains closed.
SA News
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Repairs on roads damaged by the River Murray flood will increase while authorities are still working to repair damage caused by widespread flooding more than a year ago.
A list compiled by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport in December showed about 250 roads were damaged in January 2022 floods, which affected large parts of the Eyre Peninsula, West Coast and Far North.
A DIT spokesman said all roads damaged in those floods had received immediate repairs but longer-term reconstruction work remained ongoing.
The workload has grown since December, with the SES now estimating nearly 1200km of road has been affected by the River Murray floodwaters.
“While repairs will be prioritised on key roads that support the transport of key essential supplies and services to the community, including roads leading to ferry crossings, the department will ensure sufficient resources and teams will be available to conduct repairs at multiple locations at the same time,” the spokesman said.
Kimba Mayor Dean Johnson, who is also president of the Local Government Association, said about 85 per cent of the district’s roads were damaged by the January 2022 flood.
“Obviously, the proportion seriously affected was a bit lower than that, but it was almost the entire network that was affected,” he said.
Mr Johnson said there were two roads that are still closed because of the floodwater, and repairs would not be complete for about another year.
“You have to wait until it’s firm enough to get in there with a heavy vehicle to do the repairs,” he said.
Mr Johnson said the total cost of repairs is expected to reach between $8-9m but the council’s annual budget sits at about $4m.
But, under disaster funding arrangements with the federal and state governments, the council has been required to cover only 12 per cent of the cost of the repairs.
“We’re very happy with the negotiated outcome … council simply could not have managed that cost on its own,” he said.
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