Eurobodalla Council urges patience on pothole backlog, but one local has an idea

Eurobodalla Shire Council is urging the local community to have patience as they make their way through a backlog of potholes on the Shire’s roads.

Over the past three months, 2530 potholes have been filled, and more than 3000 sqm of the roads have been patched up thanks to the council’s dedicated work crew.

They have used 180 tonnes of premix since heavy rain in March caused significant damage to the roads, with the busiest roads such as George Bass Drive and Beach Road taking priority.

However, Mogo local and delivery business operator James Rogers has come up with a solution to the pothole problem in the meantime.

In a post on a community noticeboard Mr Rogers mentioned he regularly drove through the Eurobodalla and Shoalhaven and often noticed the pothole-damaged roads.

“I get to see one of the most dangerous spots around,” Mr Rogers said.

“One almost took my truck out the other evening up around Kioloa Beach.

“The road was the worst I’ve seen to date.”

Rather than complaining about the bad road conditions Mr Rogers has reached out to the community with a proposal.

“I have a few weeks off and rather than just sitting down … I had an idea where some of us could buy some good signage and just put up signs such as these (see above image) to make things safer for the greater community before there’s a fatality,” he said.

“I’m not seeing any signs of this nature except maybe occasionally down Beach Road in Batemans Bay.

“It has to get pretty bad for them to appear.”

He suggested more LED signs on the backs of trailers are needed to warn people to slow down to 50 km/h while travelling through towns.

Works Council manager Tony Swallow said the crew was working through the backlog as fast as they could, however the work was dependent on availability of contractors, machinery, funds and weather.

“We understand potholes are a big issue for the community right now and we are working as fast as we can to get our roads back to their usual standard,” Mr Swallow said.

“We know where the potholes are but we can only do so much.

“Further rain quite often undoes some of our work but also makes it difficult to do more permanent repairs.”

Mr Swallow advised people to take it easy when driving on the road.

“The best thing drivers can do is slow down,” he said.

“Potholes on Princes Highway are the responsibility of Transport for NSW, not council.

“We’ve been in regular contact with them to prioritise repairs in our shire, acknowledging the whole east coast is struggling with the same issue after two years of fires and floods.”

As the council commences the pothole repairs Mr Rogers has asked locals to offer a helping hand to improve road safety temporarily.

“Obviously this is not our job to do, but if the local people in charge can’t handle it, I’m sure we can.”