Road to recovery a long one

Published on 29 November 2022

As Benalla Rural City Council continues to count the cost of the October floods, it has been revealed that Council has suffered damage to more than 120 individual roads and other significant infrastructure since mid-October.

Over two days in October, Benalla township received 82mm of rain, while upper parts of the Broken River catchment received up to 150mm over the same period.

Mayor Bernie Hearn said “that this rain fell on already soaked ground and ran-off into already brimming rivers, causing surrounding creeks and rivers to rise rapidly.

At the peak of the flooding, we had over 70 individual roads that were badly affected by flooding and associated infrastructure damage, mainly contained within the northern and north-eastern part of our municipality.

As soon as they could following the mid-October flooding, Council engineers began to conduct road safety assessments on Council’s entire road network.

As the rain continued to fall throughout October and November, assessments are ongoing.

At the November Council meeting Councillors authorised the Chief Executive Officer to approve payments related to the October 2022 flood event, this will enable the timely engagement of contractors to undertake emergency works,” Cr Hearn said.

Council has since engaged local contractors Goldmans and Extons to undertake emergency road works. These works are estimated at $2 – $3 Million to be paid for under the national Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

“We understand there is still lots of work to be done, and yes, we know there are a lot of potholes, but we ask that residents be patient, report any dangerous road conditions like water over roads or fallen trees, and never drive through floodwaters,” Cr Hearn said.

Please report dangerous road conditions to Council by calling 5760 2600.

Image: Road damage - Creamery Lane