‘WORST ROAD’: Traffic leaves, but potholes remain

It was one of the busiest roads in the area, but there are many holes left after road closure

Some of the traffic and road dints on Hillcrest near Maclean, which has been closed to through traffic after Maclean interchange.

ALICK LOCKE said he planned to "dance on his roof" when the new Maclean interchange opened.

Mr Locke lives at the top of Hillcrest and has listened to the traffic roar over his hill for the past 19 years.

"I can't wait," he said. "The traffic on here is worse than the highway sometimes.

"It's shocking."

Mr Locke said it wasn't quite time for celebration at Hillcrest yet, with one outstanding feature left after the traffic change.

"The road needs fixing," he said.

"It's a shocking piece of road - the worst in the country I reckon.

"Well, maybe the Birdsville Track is worse," he said with a grin.

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Mr Locke said it was almost liking riding "dodgems" to miss the potholes which litter the surface coming up the hill.

Some of the traffic and road dints on Hillcrest near Maclean, which has been closed to through traffic after Maclean interchange.

"It shakes the hell out of the suspension," he said.

"And the trucks, they are shocking, they just shudder across it. They come up here all hours of night and hit every pothole."

Despite the road being blocked as a through road, more than 50 people still live in the street, which includes the Hillcrest community.

In 2016, Cr Jim Simmons, who is now mayor of Clarence Valley Council made a stand in council to have costings done to repair the intersection.

At the time, Cr Simmons said the state of the intersection had been aired at two public meetings in Maclean to discuss the council's operational plan and budget.

>>> LOOKBACK: Cr Jim Simmons drives over 'frustrating' road

"They've done nothing about it," he said. "It's reached the stage where my frustration with council makes this the only option."

However, the motion to bring costings for a repair to the council meeting was defeated.

Clarence Valley Council senior maintenance engineer Ross McCann said there would be an extremely reduced volume of traffic once it was closed.

Some of the traffic and road dints on Hillcrest near Maclean, which has been closed to through traffic after Maclean interchange.

"We will undertake some minor patching on the steep section but have no plans to do much more," he said.

Mr Locke said he'd like to see the road surface redone, almost as a form of compensation for the poor state the road had been left in.

"I want new piece of road for putting up with it," he said.

"It's been 19 years of purgatory."

Alick Locke looks at the road at Hillcrest near Maclean where he's lived for the past 19 years.

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