Cabonne Council, through support from the NSW Government, will commence a dredging and vegetation clean-up project in the Molong Creek, with specific focus on the area around and upstream of the Molong Rail Bridge.
Cabonne Council Mayor Kevin Beatty said a contractor has been arranged, with Council staff working with the NSW Reconstruction Authority, UGL, the NSW Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries), and the NSW Environmental Protection Authority to finalise arrangements for the works.
"The bottleneck caused by the Rail Bridge during flood events has long been a frustration for Council and locals. This vegetation and dredging work will assist in improving flows of the Molong Creek, but is only the first step as we work to find a long-term solution to this problem," Cr Beatty said.
Following a recent visit from the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway ,senior representatives from Transport for NSW, and the NSW Reconstruction Authority, a NSW Government engineer will work with Council on the development and scoping of a longer-term solution for the bridge.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said that it was good to see the NSW Government supporting Cabonne Shire Council and working with the community to mitigate the destructiveness of flooding.
"Dredging works will soon get underway which is a big win for the community of Molong who were battered by flooding last year," Mr Farraway said.
"The NSW Government is supporting our community and using this dredging process as one tool to prevent the magnitude of flooding events into the future.
"While this is the first step, a longer-term solution will be developed in consultation with engineers, Council and the NSW Reconstruction Authority with scoping works to get underway in the coming weeks."
"I am pleased that the NSW Government and UGL are working with Council on developing a plan to progress this key project for the Molong community," Cr Beatty said.
"Regardless of who is in Government, Council will continue to pursue funding to correct this problem, with this project a key component of our recovery plan for Molong.
"Whilst this will not prevent flooding in Molong, we believe this will go a long way to addressing many of the community's concerns," Cr Beatty said.
The dredging and clean-up works will commence in the next month, with engineers also on site within the next month to work with Council on the commencement of the feasibility and scoping works for the long-term solution.
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