It was only a brief respite but Upper Coopers Creek residents got a chance to walk across the landslip section of their road and access the outside world over the weekend.
A message from Byron Shire Council (BSC) late Friday afternoon told residents the road was open to pedestrians and emergency vehicles under 3.5 tonnes.
But BSC’s executive manager of community infrastructure, Phil Holloway, warned the road remaining open was dependent on dry weather and it would need to be closed again if more than 100 millimetres of rain fell over a three day period.
‘Unfortunately, the wet weather over the weekend has triggered the need for the road to be closed again,’ he said.
‘Following additional monitoring and geotechnical inspections, and a stretch of dry weather, we are hopeful the road will reopen in the near future.’
Mr Holloway said while only a short two day reprieve, the weekend would have allowed the residents to restock on food supplies.
For life threatening emergencies call 000. Residents who may run short of essential supplies over the coming days should call NSW SES on 132 500.
Lismore potholes
Meanwhile, grumbling Lismore residents may need to put up with their potholes for a little longer.
Lismore City Council (LCC) is having to carefully prioritise where it sends its much needed road repair gangs.
On top of that it is struggling to fix even the worst affected areas in the ongoing wet weather.
Already the estimated repair bill is $2.4 million and that figure looks set to rise.
Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell said LCC crews have been excellent at responding to requests in all sorts of weather, day and night, but it is very difficult to repair potholes effectively in the rain and with very wet roads.
‘I have had lots of comments on Facebook and absolutely understand people’s frustration but the truth of the matter is we cannot fix all of the roads at once and need to prioritise in this kind of situation,’ Cr Dowell said.
‘We have had sustained rainfall for weeks now and we have limited resources at our disposal. We urge people to drive to conditions and be mindful that roads have deteriorated. We want everyone in our community to stay safe, and we ask people for patience and common sense during this very wet time.’
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