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Councils warned: ‘Don’t lose access’

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Chris Oldfield, Naracoorte Community News

Regardless of the number of cars using a road, if there is access “don’t lose it”, a leading Australian road expert, Tyrone Toole has warned councils.

Even if a local government body thinks there is no other way than to delete a road, Mr Toole suggests the council “takes another look at it”.

His comments followed questions by The News regarding the Shuard’s La debacle – a 600m stretch across a wet low-lying area enabling all-weather access to farms.

Without community consultation, Naracoorte Lucindale Council deleted it and others from its road register.

Australian Roads Research Board (ARRB) chief technology leader, asset performance, Tyrone Toole said it reminded him of a poorer country.

Mr Toole has spent a lifetime building and researching roads around the world and is also ARRB’s portfolio leader of asset modelling.

Additionally, Mr Toole is the main author of the Federal Government’s Best Practice Guide for Unsealed Roads – a manual for councils.

“Again, this takes me back to Africa…once you’ve got access, don’t lose it,” he said.

“The (community) cost when you can’t pass (a road) becomes very high.

“And the cost on producers, which is why farmers would be complaining, is very high. Their costs have now gone through the roof.

“We are trying to address this in the national guidelines.

“When you’re saying conventionally it needs this amount of traffic, it may not always apply.

“Say that road (Shuard’s La) fails, when you get to the point that a person can’t now pass…the cost is high, you will spend a lot more money.

“If a traffic audit showed it (impassable) or maybe four wheel drive only – well, I think it needs carefully going through.

“In Tanzania and other places around the world, when I worked on this topic, I could get down to the lowest number of vehicles a day.

“If you provided access in the first place, don’t go backwards.

“It was uneconomic to go backwards.”

Mr Toole said it seemed “pretty drastic” to delete roads.

“They (the council) may feel justified because it is desperate.

“But it is rarely that difficult and I would be saying a closer look is needed.

“A stitch in time saves nine applies to almost everything, and if you do the right thing early, you are not really spending much.

“So, I would look harder.

“Obviously they felt pushed in a corner, but I’d be saying, ‘Come on, let’s have a fresh look at this’.

“There’s no harm in that, and say: ‘How can we address this, because it would seem deleting it would be backwards’.”

The Shuard’s La debacle

As previously reported by The News, Shuard’s La at Lochaber near Naracoorte, during the last 40 years or so, was used by several landowners.

The last 600m of it was raised and crossed a low lying wet area.

To outsiders it could seem like a dead-end extension running from a farm house to an unformed road.

But it enabled several nearby landowners to cross a drain and a wet area during winter, along with associated day-to-day and seasonal vehicles.

They had all weather access to check animals’ calving and lambing, hand feed their livestock, put out fertiliser and move stock if necessary, among other chores.

When the council decided to no longer maintain or grade the 600m extension across the old swamp, they allege they were never told.

Year by year it fell into a further state of disrepair.

Last year an independent civil engineer’s report highlighted the very poor state of the road.

As previously reported, initial complaints on behalf of the farmers to Naracoorte council were ignored.

A written plea to upgrade the extension and fix potholes was mistaken by council for a 1500m road extension on the other side of the unformed road. (Investigations by The News could not verify any written or verbal request for a 1500m extension).

Rather than fix the formed section, the council decided to delete the 600m from its road register.

NLC deleted 51kms of roads to save $12,000

At the same time the council deleted part or all of 19 roads – 51km – to save $12,000, using its own figures – as previously reported.

Cr Cameron Grundy won support from some elected members last year, and council management agreed to maintain the 600m when its machinery was in the area.

But the road has not been reinstated on the council’s register.

Farmer Roger Dickenson told The News that the road had been graded while it was raining, dirt from the roadside had been scraped across the track, but it had made “a bigger mess”.

He was still unable to truck cattle on or off the property, or access paddocks during winter without a four wheel drive.

Mr Dickenson believed some loads of gravel were required to make the 600m stretch passable once again.

Naracoorte Community News 4 May 2022

This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.

Related stories: Councils urged to seek expert help; Human resources and equipment important for goods roads

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