Nearly one in five roads in Hawkesbury City Council's network were damaged by the March/April 2022 and July 2022 flood events.
Of council's 991 roads and streets, 191 were sustained damage, with an estimated repair cost of approximately $190 million.
Repairs will be completed over the coming two years, with funding to be claimed under the State and Federal government's Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
This funding is not guaranteed, with various conditions and evidence being required to support the claim, leading council to establish an Infrastructure Recovery Team to help state its case.
The Infrastructure Recovery Program is on top of council's 2022/2023 Roads Program, which incorporates both 2022/2023 projects and projects continuing from 2021/2022 - currently 71 projects.
Council allocates 40 per cent of its budget every year to managing the 1063 kilometres road network - 778km of sealed roads and 285km of unsealed roads.
The 2022/2023 Roads Program funding comes from council's revenue, including rates, fees and charges, and is supplemented with grant funding.
Similarly to a hospital, the Infrastructure Recovery Program has been triaged, with each required works broken into categories.
This includes: Projects, and Packages 1, 2, 3, 4 - Major Landslips; 5 - Minor Landslips; 6 - Sealed Roads; and 7 - Gravel Roads.
The DRFA only permits reconstruction of assets on a like-for-like or modern standard basis, not necessarily to a higher standard, however, council has been successful in increasing the standard of some reconstructed assets.
Hawkesbury Mayor, Councillor Sarah McMahon said council was heeding the lessons learned within the past three years and had already made significant inroads into not just repairing roads, but also improving service delivery for the future.
"There is no short-term fix. This is a long-term plan," she said. "It is the most important thing that we have to do, because as a council we are here to deliver services to our community. Right now the job is bigger than us, but we are going to fix it."
For council's daily updated list of road maintenance and repair projects visit tinyurl.com/2pbknywc. To report potholes and road damage visit tinyurl.com/yu3yunx7.
Finn Coleman
Having grown-up in the Hawkesbury, I understand the importance of the Hawkesbury Gazette in highlighting stories that members of the local community care about - including events, businesses, sports and the people that make our town unique.
Having grown-up in the Hawkesbury, I understand the importance of the Hawkesbury Gazette in highlighting stories that members of the local community care about - including events, businesses, sports and the people that make our town unique.
