Across the Kempsey Shire more than 600mm of rain has fallen in the last three months. It's no surprise to motorists that the rain has caused significant deterioration throughout the road network and potholes have become an issue right across the shire.
Council manages a 1,250 kilometre road network, much of it over the Lower Macleay floodplain. During heavy rain, water seeps into cracks in the road surface, weakens the road base and traffic over these softened areas causes damage and potholes.
Unfortunately, road repairs require dry conditions for bitumen materials to set correctly – which means the wet weather when potholes appear is the worst time to try and fix them.
Two specialist Council road crews are dedicated to maintenance and repair of the sealed roads using a variety of methods including high tech equipment. Two additional crews are focussed on unsealed roads.
In normal weather regular visual inspections and survey data is used to create the schedule for improvement and preventive maintenance works. But the recent weather conditions mean additional crews are working every day on reactive pothole patching, trying to get on top of a list of known weak spots and issues reported by the community. Repairs are prioritised according to traffic volume, speed limits, bus or pedestrian routes and the roads importance.
That means a deep or large pothole on a local traffic back road that isn't near schools or areas of public interest is likely to be further down the priority order than a smaller pothole on a busy road.
Drivers are reminded to drive to the conditions particularly on damaged roads or during wet weather.
Council is asking residents for patience as the crews deal with the frustrating conditions.
