Thunderbolts Way will remain closed about 40 kilometres north of Gloucester near Bretti, in the short term, as crews work to clear landslips and repair bridges.
MidCoast Council crews are repairing the road which connects Gloucester to the New England region to achieve access to more damaged sections. Repairs are currently being done on Leslie's Bridge after which the focus will move to Barnard River Bridge at Kauthi. The damage to each of these bridges is significant.
There are still multiple landslips near Giro which are being assessed by geotechnical engineers to determine a safe course of action.
Gloryvale Bridge has undergone a temporary repair so that it could be opened and a severe cavity under Tenis Bridge has also been repaired.
MidCoast Council's Director of Infrastructure and Engineering, Rob Scott was unable to put a time frame on the reopening of the main arterial road and asked the community for continued patience.
"Some of the damage caused along this road from the flood event is quite mind blowing," he explained.
"Crews are working really hard to reestablish safe access but as you can imagine there is a lot of damage."
The news doesn't get any better for residents in the vicinity of Tiri Bridge.
Already being on the priority list for replacement, sections of the bridge were washed away during the latest event. Council is working with other government agencies to access additional funding to replace and potentially raise the bridge, which would improve the level of flood resilience.
Again, Mr Scott emphasised that staff will be doing what they can, but it will be some time before the bridge will once again be usable.
Keep up to date with all the latest information Council's Flood Recovery Hub midcoast.nsw.gov.au/floodrecovery
