Acting General Manager cautions motorists ahead of Easter weekend

1 April, 2021Posted in: Roads and Assets
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Machinery scooping up flood water

Wingecarribee Shire Council’s Acting General Manager is urging motorists to take extra care on the roads as holiday traffic increases across the Shire.

Acting General Manager Les MacMahon said the warning was particularly important as Council crews continued to mop up from last month’s deluge.

“While we avoided some of the more serious flood damage experienced by our northern neighbours, our Shire still reported considerable loss,” he said.

“The most visible physical damage was sustained across our road network.”

Following the late March record-rainfalls Council received 136 requests to repair potholes.

“We’ve allocated four Council crews to solely repair these potholes,” Mr McMahon said.

“In addition to repairing the reported faults they’re also busy traversing our Shire’s 1,200 kilometre network of roads proactively searching for additional rain damage to our infrastructure.

“We’re well progressed in actioning these requests despite the geographic expanse of our Shire.”

Barrallier Road at Goodmans Ford, Langs Road near Wombeyan Caves Road and Oldbury Road in Sutton Forest remain the only roads still closed.

“While the majority of our roads have now re-opened, even minor rainfall in the days ahead could exacerbate our already swollen waterways,” Mr McMahon added.  “I remind residents to never drive, cycle, walk or play in floodwaters.”

Fallen trees have also created significant risks and challenges with Mr McMahon citing 130 calls to remove downed trees in the days immediately following the rains.

“I’m pleased to report that almost 100 of these jobs have now been tended to and we’re hopeful of finalising the remainder in the days ahead,” he said.

“I remind residents to contact Council as a matter of urgency should they witness any faults to our infrastructure.”

Issues can be reported to Council’s Customer Service team by phoning 4868 0888 (24 hours), email at mail@wsc.nsw.gov.au or online at www.wsc.nsw.gov.au.  Customers with smartphones can also report a fault by downloading the Snap, Send, Solve app which allows users to take a photo of the issue and send it to Council within a matter of minutes.  The free app is available from the App Store or Google Play.

Council’s Interim Administrator Mr Viv May praised Council staff for their prompt response.

“Our crews have been working through some pretty ordinary conditions to make our roads safe and open them as soon as possible,” he said.

Mr McMahon also thanked residents for their continued patience as Council crews continued to clean-up after the flood waters.

“On behalf of the staff and management at Council I wish all residents and visitors to the Highlands a happy Easter and safe journey this long weekend.”