PORT Stephens Mayor Leah Anderson has thanked community members for their patience as the flood emergency makes way for a long and messy clean-up.
The priority, she shared, is to “work through recovery – safely, thoroughly, and as quickly as possible”.
“Sadly, for many of our residents across Port Stephens, the impacts of this natural disaster are far from over.”
Cr Anderson noted the damage to the road network in particular.
“We literally have thousands of potholes to fix,” she said.
“Our crews will prioritise our high speed, high traffic roads first and, hopefully, over the next few weeks, we can get on top of the worst of these.
“Yes, these repairs are temporary.
“Pothole patching is only a temporary fix, but it’s essential to keep traffic moving and make our roads safer while we plan longer-term repairs.”
Council has joined other LGAs in the Hunter and Mid North Coast in advocating for financial support from both the state and federal governments.
In the meantime, road users should be aware of the changing conditions and allow extra travel time.
Cr Anderson also asks that drivers “be kind to those working on our roads and also, to other drivers.”
After taking a walk over the partially submerged Fitzgerald Bridge at Raymond Terrace (aka “the road to nowhere”) Member for Port Stephens Kate Washington also warned of the disruption ahead.
“When the waters recede the road to recovery will be long,” she said.
“But our community has done it before and we’ll do it again – by working together and supporting each other.”
By Sue STEPHENSON
