The Mildura City Council has this week begun removing small sections of levees to allow road inspections to take place, following the recent Murray River floods.
Acting general manager development Daryl Morgan said the works were part of council’s ongoing push to actively inspect previously flood-impacted roads ahead of reopening them as soon as possible.
The focus will begin with levees blocking the following roads:
- Etiwanda Avenue and Cureton Avenue East
- Benetook Avenue and Cureton Avenue East
- Cureton Avenue near the Mildura Homestead
- Eleventh Street extension, near Regina Avenue.
Though removing these small sections of levee won’t mean these roads will be reopened.
“While it’s encouraging to see river levels receding and some roads no longer underwater, we need to remember that many of these roads have in some cases been under metres of water for weeks, if not months,” Morgan said.
“As a result, the road surface may look fine, but the ground conditions beneath could still be saturated and not ready to take the load of cars or trucks.
“By driving on these roads before they’re ready, it could actually take our region longer to recover due to the significant damage this could cause and resulting additional work that would be needed.
“This is why our community may still see closure signage on roads that appear on the surface to be fine and accessible.
“The fact we’re able to get out and start inspecting these roads with a view to reopening them is certainly a great step forward, however we ask our community to be patient as we work to assess and reopen them.”
Morgan explained that removing these sections of levee was now possible due to river levels receding to the point where floodwater was a safe distance from levees.