Bridges that burned in the fires and whose temporary crossings washed away in flood soon after have disrupted traffic on the Grafton to Armidale road, with similar hold ups above Bellbrook on the Kempsey road to Armidalde.
People in the middle have been forced to go the long way 'round, through Bellingen. Clarence Valley Council says it will be months before concrete replacements are complete, particularly over Clouds Creek on the Nymboida, although locals only access over gravel will resume this week.
Several external factors have unfortunately caused delays in reinstating the temporary access at Hortons Creek and Clouds Creek, including more rain.
Clarence Valley Council's General Manager, Ashley Lindsay said, "We put side tracks in place for residents to have access but during the heavy rain and flood event in February these sidetracks were damaged and washed away, once again cutting off access along the Armidale Road for residents and road users."
"Weather permitting we hope to have a crane in place soon to carry out the recovery of the temporary bridge at Clouds Creek, with the restoration of the side track to be completed by the end of this week".
"We understand the impact that this is having on the community who live along the Armidale Road and we appreciate everyone's patience in this disaster recovery process. I want to reassure residents that public safety and the safety of our staff remains our number one priority. As soon as the side tracks are in place and any debris from the floods has been removed we will be able to re-open the road."
The immediate focus is to re-open the road for the community with the temporary sidetracks. Council are making the case to the NSW Government to replace the bridges with constructions that meet modern engineering standards. This will see the wooden bridges replaced with more robust concrete structures that are better able to withstand bushfires and flooding
For Hortons Creek Bridge, a new prefabricated structure has already been delivered to a holding yard and contractors have been engaged for the construction work. The foundation construction on this new concrete bridge will start in a matter of weeks. The permanent concrete replacement of the bridge at Clouds Creek will take much longer to complete due to its length and complexity but Council is working through the investigation and design work as quickly as possible.
Costs of the damages will be covered by the bushfire and flooding Natural Disaster declarations under the State Government Guidelines.
