It has been over two years since the 2022 floods and residents of Main Arm have been dealing with third world road conditions ever since. Now Byron Shire Council has agreed to ‘enter Middle Earth’ as one resident put it, and they have invited Main Arm residents to join them at Kohinur Hall this Thursday, May 9 at 5.30pm to discuss the road conditions.
‘We have been on Councils case since the floods. Every week letters have been sent in, petitions have been signed, and protests have been carried out. The ratepayers in Upper Main Arm feel let down and neglected,’ a spokesperson for the Upper Main Arm Road Committee (UMARC) told The Echo.
‘We have had the worst parts of the roads graded two or three times in the post-flood period. The quality of the works has been very average and does not last more than a few weeks at a time.’
Tourists on third-world roads
National Parks has been setting up a number of new walks, trails, and activities that users must traverse Main Arm Road to access. To build and develop the trails National Parks has been carting in truckloads of sandstone and rock.
‘This section of road busier than it has ever been due to the new walks and trails opening up,’ explained the UMARC spokesperson.
‘Along with a tenfold increase in heavy vehicle use delivering sandstone and rock for these new ventures we feel a little helpless as our roads deteriorate even further. Once they are open and being advertised for tourists traffic will increase significantly and the current road conditions are not able to support that increase in traffic.’
Locals say the ongoing appalling road conditions mean that residents are incredibly anxious, and ‘each time it rains many of us simply refuse to go out’ because of the dangerous driving conditions.
‘The fact that on request Council has decided to come and have a face-to-face with us this Thursday at Kohinur Hall is potentially a positive. However, after all the information at their hands and years of failed management in this department we would much prefer that they simply came and fixed the bloody roads and stopped with all the chit chat.’
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