Indigo Shire Council, Media Release, 25 November 2022
The scale of the damage to Gooramadda, Indigo Creek and Bells Flat Roads means that we’re still assessing the best way to restore access:
Gooramadda Road, Rutherglen
Within the 24 hours of Monday 14 November and Tuesday 15 November, what initially appeared as a small sink hole on Gooramadda Road, Rutherglen has now totally eroded a large section of road.
Gooramadda Road (before), Gooramadda Road (12 hours).
Photos: Indigo Shire Council
The road was immediately closed upon discovery of the sinkhole from the Murray Valley Highway to the Chiltern-Howlong Road and motorists need to seek alternate routes.
The below photos demonstrate the enormous force of water and the damage it can cause which is why we can’t stress strongly enough the dangers of driving through floodwater or ignoring road closure signs.
Update- Friday 25 November
We’ve completed a detailed survey, catchment analysis and design for the site and this has proposed some larger culverts to reinstate the road and provide much higher capacity for future events.
Gooramadda Road (24 hours).
Photos: Indigo Shire Council
We’re now trying to source the culverts necessary to complete the works and better understand the lead times involved as these are in high demand at the moment.
This information will help inform how we pursue any temporary bridge solution and we expect to know more next week.
Should we be successful in finding a supplier that can meet these requirements, construction could potentially begin over the next few weeks but it’s currently looking more likely to be in the new year.
Bells Flat Road, Yackandandah
Following an intense storm on Tuesday 25 October, water flowed over Bells Flat Road causing significant erosion and exposing North East Water (NEW) underground infrastructure.
NEW has completed its repair and relocation of its services, but this section of the road will remain closed until a geotechnical assessment can be completed to inform the repair works. Keep an eye out for detours until one or both lanes can be re-opened.
Update- Friday 25 November
Further geotechnical investigations continue, with drilling to commence next week. Following this, the next step is to commence the RFQ (request for quote) process for the repair works.
Indigo Creek Road
Indigo Creek Road was closed on Friday 11 November due to the failure of a major culvert.
Following an engineering assessment on the condition of the culvert, in the interest of public safety, it was been deemed necessary to immediately close the road to all traffic.
Update- Friday 25 November
We recognise the importance of this road and are continuing to investigate a temporary bridge solution. Our aim is to create a solution that will enable access to be maintained throughout the process of building the new bridge rather than something that will have to be removed for this period.
While this may mean that restoring access in the short term takes a little longer, this solution will minimise the longer term inconvenience.
We are continuing to monitor the site and note that the road is continuing to settle.
