Work to restore local roads continues across the Blue Mountains, with crews working
extended hours and days to patch and complete major repairs.
Council has enacted an escalated road repair program, sought additional funding and
engaged a growing number of external contractors to work alongside Council staff to
increase our capacity to complete repairs. There are two main kinds of repairs taking place:
jetpatching and heavy patching.
Jetpatching is a quick process that temporarily repairs potholes and road damage. This work
is essential to keep local roads moving while we wait for roads to fully dry to allow
permanent repair work to take place.
Heavy patching is a more complicated process that permanently repairs the road. Heavy
patching uses larger equipment and requires that the road and road base be fully dry. The
road can take weeks to completely dry, depending on the amount and frequency of rain.
The forecast for the beginning of October is for significant rain, and a third La Niña event is
due to set in across Eastern Australia for Spring and Summer, which will have a major
impact on Council's ability to complete road repairs.
Blue Mountains Mayor Cr Mark Greenhill expressed his frustration with the ongoing poor
weather conditions, and sympathy with both the community and Council staff.
"Unfortunately rain and roads are the infuriating situation that keeps on giving, and I know
we are all absolutely exhausted by it," Cr Greenhill said.
"It's a bad situation and as much as I and Council staff would love to tell the community
there's a quick fix, there isn't. While that's frustrating and disheartening to hear, I believe it's
important that we are up front about the task ahead of us.
"In the last three years we've had four separate rain and flood events. That, on top of two La
Niña Summers, bushfire recovery and the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic, have
created the perfect storm for our community, and our infrastructure.
"On top of record rains, material shortages and sky-rocketing costs, our roads have taken a
literal beating that has left one third of the local road network damaged. The estimated cost
of that damage, including repair of roads and the 66 landslides, exceeds $400million.
"At the same time as this unprecedented and catastrophic road damage, we also have
ceaseless rain, and skilled labour, material and machinery shortages, which hinders our
ability to repair that damage.
"Every time it rains, it sets us back. And we are once again facing a very wet Summer.
"That's not to say we haven't made progress. In the last four weeks we've fixed over
7,000sqm square metres of local roads, which is the same as the total amount we did in the
whole 2019-2020 financial year.
"Our city and our roads are drenched. There are also 66 landslips across the Blue Mountains
that Council is also working to repair. Many of those landslips required significant
geotechnical assessments to be completed, and all need major works to repair them and
make them safe for the community.
"You've heard me talk before about the fatigue we're all feeling after three years of
unrelenting crises. We have lived through more emergencies and crises in the last three
years than the rest of my Mayorship combined.
"Council staff are providing weekly updates on what road repair works have been completed
as well as what work is scheduled, and the new solutions they're finding to continue to make
progress against the odds. One of our key strategies is to engage as many external
contractors as possible to assist with our recovery.
"To put the challenge into perspective," Cr Greenhill continued, "Council staff are in the
process of implementing 10 years' worth of road works in 12 months, that's the scale of it.
"It's also important we remember that we are not the only ones facing this problem. Councils'
right across Eastern Australia are experiencing similar issues, with huge numbers of
potholes, landslips and other road repairs that need to be completed. We are all suffering
from a lack of materials and bracing for La Niña and the next drenching that is on the
horizon," Cr Greenhill concluded.
Council is responsible for the maintenance and repair of local roads. Some roads that need
attention are managed by Transport for NSW, and Council is working with them to ensure
repairs are made to those roads quickly and with as little impact to local residents as
possible.
You can stay up to date with the road repair program, and report a pothole or road
issue for local roads at: bmcc.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/potholes
State roads in the Blue Mountains are the Great Western Highway, Hawkesbury Road
and the Darling Causeway. You can report issues on State roads at: roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/contact-us/feedback-form.html
Photo: Road crews in action repairing local roads
