Local road repairs continuing

Local Blue Mountains residents have no doubt noticed that there are a large number of pot holes across the City at the moment. The increased amount of pot holes and road damage is a result of the rain event that drenched the City in March.

Blue Mountains Mayor Cr Mark Greenhill said: “Council is aware that, following the downpour we experienced three weeks ago, a large number of new pot holes have developed on local roads.

“Unfortunately pot holes always come with wet weather, and we are in a perfect storm – if you’ll pardon the pun – of a ‘La Niña’ weather system,” Cr Greenhill continued.

“Among other things, ‘La Niña’ means more rain across Australia, and we have certainly seen that in Eastern Australia over the last month. And we are likely to see more rain as the year progresses as well.

“Pot holes aren’t a new issue, but the current volume is on a scale we don’t often see, and that is stretching Council’s resources, which means it is taking longer to get to and fix each issue.

“We’re not the only ones facing this problem either. Councils all across Eastern Australia are experiencing similar issues, with huge numbers of pot holes and other road repairs that need to be completed.

“The above average rainfall is also an added obstacle, as the road and pot holes must be dry before they can be fixed. So every time it rains, it pushes back the timeline for getting things fixed.

“I drive around the local area a lot, so I know first-hand how frustrating and problematic pot holes are. And I also know how hard Council’s Infrastructure Services team work all year-round to fix them and keep local roads safe.

“Even before the rain, Council crews had resealed and fixed a record amount of roads and pot holes over the last two years. In 2019-2020, Council resealed 112,485 square metres of roads, compared to 62,950 square metres the previous year.

“And so far in 2020-2021 we’ve fixed 7663 square metres of pot holes, which is already 1000 square metres more than the whole of the year before.

“The recent rain event has meant there’s even more work to do. In just the last three weeks, Council has had a 250% increase in the number of reports of pot holes and other road issues. 

“Additional resources are being brought in to help speed up the repair work, but these things take time and so my message to the community is to please be patient.

“I know it’s a problem and so does Council’s Infrastructure Services team, and they are working to get our roads fixed as soon as possible,” 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.