TRC COUNTING RAIN DAMAGE
ROADS damaged across the Toowoomba region as a result of the severe weather events last month could take up to two years to repair.
The Toowoomba Regional Council’s infrastructure department has asked residents to be patient, after it estimated between 400 and 500 areas across the region received flood or storm damage following a wet February.
ROADS and areas across the Toowoomba region damaged by the destructive rain events last month could take up to two years to repair, according to the council.
The TRC’s infrastructure group has shed light on the enormous task facing its crews, after it revealed up to 500 areas had been affected by damage.
Infrastructure general manager Mike Brady told councillors at the ordinary meeting on Tuesday the recovery project was being helped with funding from the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.
“We’re collecting data at the moment and we’re getting a lot of inquiries and issues raised right across the region, from the north to the south,” he said.
“There’s been impact across the whole region.
“There’s a thought that these are one-off things (but) I can assure there are probably 400 or 500 areas that have been damaged.
“It’s quite a large event that we’re having to care for.”
While Mr Brady said the council would try to ensure roads were usable in the interim, he said it would take time before every issue was fixed.
“The recovery period will be two years from this June, under the arrangements, so it will be some time in some cases before we get out to assist people,” he said.
“We’re going through an emergent phase at the moment which is the first three months, where there is an immediate clean up and tidy up in various areas so traffic can get through and the community can function as normal.
“It does take time and I do ask for people’s patience.”
Mr Brady said soil erosion had also been a major issue across the region, the result of extreme drought followed by heavy rain.
“There’s been a huge amount of soil erosion that’s occurred,” he said.
“The drought has basically stripped the paddock of grass, and we’ve ended up with soil erosion right across the whole region.
“We’ve had thousands of tonnes of material washed into the road reserves and across our roads.
“The soil is one of the big issues we’re dealing with as part of this event, more than previous events.”