Corangamite Shire Council staff are carrying out inspections of roads that were inundated by recent floods.
Director Works and Services Brooke Love said some roads were still submerged and the extent of damage would not be known until water subsided.
“We will assess our whole network in the coming weeks.
“There’s a bit of a process. We have to carry out an engineering assessment then estimate costs and apply to the Government for disaster funding.
“Disaster Relief Funding Arrangements (DRFA) is a cost sharing arrangement between the Commonwealth and State governments to support certain relief and recovery efforts following an eligible disaster.
“The event has been declared an eligible disaster so Council can seek funding to repair the roads and other damaged essential public assets,” Mrs Love said.
“We have a number of roads that require urgent repairs following the flood event which started on 13 October. These roads will be inspected and hopefully signed off by the Department on 3 November. We should be able to then get onto these works.”
“Our entire road network including bridges will be inspected as part of this disaster. This could take up to four weeks to complete due to access to roads and bridges.
“We ask the community for patience as we go through the strict process required by the funding arrangements. Following previous disasters we know this will ensure we can get the best results for community.
“The funding requirements also stipulate who must complete this work and when. So we will be working with our local contractors around availability and scope of works. Like in 2011 and 2016, this is a significant project and needs to be done properly rather than a quick-fix. Council understands that everyone’s road will be their priority.”
The Corangamite Road Management Plan has been suspended so Council can prioritise what works need to be done to maximise community safety.
Over the three days from Wednesday 12 October to Friday 14 October, dozens of Council and State-owned roads were flooded and sustained water damage to pavement, shoulders, culverts, bridges and drains, not just in Skipton.
The continuing rain, likelihood of more, and already high water content in the ground means there is potential for further impacts.
“Where we can open up roads, we will as soon as possible,” Mrs Love said.
“Where we need to close roads for our community safety, we will.
“We have been receiving a lot of customer requests and thank our residents for letting us know about their issues.
“We’ll do the most urgent works as soon as possible but can’t fix everything straight away. We ask residents to be patient.”
