Rural roads crisis: Gooramadda ‘canyon of doom’ reopening fears

Works to reopen a major Victorian road cut in half by raging floodwaters has started, as councils begin fixing thousands of kilometres of damaged infrastructure.

Works to reopen a major northeast Victorian road cut in half by raging floodwaters has started, as councils begin fixing thousands of kilometres of damaged infrastructure.

Gooramadda Road, a designated B-double route near Rutherglen, totally collapsed after an initial sinkhole emerged last month and has since remained closed.

Works on a temporary access road around what locals dubbed the “Gooramadda canyon of doom” began this week.

The sinkhole on Gooramadda Road, Rutherglen, which opened after floods last month.

The single-lane gravel sidetrack will be suitable for light vehicles only with Indigo Shire hoping it can open before Christmas.

But olive farmer Rob Whyte, whose business had suffered since the floods, feared truck drivers would find the road too tempting.

“Our expectation is it will last one or two days before it’s totally decimated by trucks ignoring the signage,” he said.

“The council is doing what it can to get local traffic going again.

“But I can’t see it lasting once word gets out that you can get through.”

Indigo mayor Sophie Price said the temporary road would be off-limits to big trucks.

“The nature of the use we’re trying to provide is for local traffic, light vehicles and anything up to an emergency level vehicle only,” she said.

Mr Whyte said trade had suffered since the road was cut.

“The people who would normally be dropping in because they are travelling between Wodonga and Corowa are just not being seen,” he said.

“The passing trade is down and there is a lot of uncertainty about whether you can get through.”

Indigo Creek Road winery owner Jemma Toohey last month after floods caused the road to be shut. Picture: Zoe Phillips

The council has confirmed the nearby Indigo Creek Road, also badly damaged in recent floods, will have a temporary access road and bridge in place in coming weeks.

Meanwhile, four councils in flood-hit areas of southern NSW are pooling their resources to fix hundreds of kilometres of roads plus bridges.

Edward River chief executive Philip Stone said the joint approach with Federation, Murray River and Berrigan councils should be well received from the NSW government when seeking funding for the massive repair job.

“There will be a gap between our individual capabilities and collective capabilities in what we need to get done,” he said.

“But instead of fighting over what is a very stretched civil contractor market we will go out as a joint tender to perhaps offer $20 million worth of work instead of each of us offering $4 million.

“I’m not sure how many times it’s been done, but it’s certainly the first time in this region.

“Inevitably when disasters come to local communities not all the stuff we’d like to do gets finished before the next disaster comes.”