RESIDENTS on Caparra Road are concerned about a large rut creating dangerous driving conditions.
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Caparra resident Lyn Heher said she was “appalled” MidCoast Council could leave drivers with such a dangerous road.
Maintenance work was carried out by MidCoast Council on the road early last week.
“Other residents and I actually thanked the MidCoast Council workers when we saw them,” Lyn said.
“But we were shocked to see this massive rut wasn’t filled up.”
Lyn said the recent storms created hazardous driving conditions along the road, with giant potholes challenging even the 4WD drivers.
“I’m appalled council could leave us with such a dangerous road,” Lyn added.
The Manning River Times asked MidCoast Council when maintainance works will resume on Caparra Road.
A spokesperson for MidCoast Council explained: “Maintenance grading activity would already be underway in this area except for the recent wet weather.”
“This work will start as soon as it is dry enough to get heavy machinery back on the unsealed roads,” they continued.
The Times asked why certain spots are left unfilled when delivering maintenance on roads by MidCoast Council workers.
“Sometimes it can be an issue with relation to the amount of material available to the crew in the shift,” said the spokesperson.
"Priorities change in relation to maintenance/road hierarchy and with heavy and prolonged rainfall (as we’ve currently experienced), work teams are sometimes required to change locations and be diverted away from roads with lower priority.”
The spokesperson said there was considerable and widespread minor damage to both the sealed and unsealed road network in the Greater Taree area of MidCoast Council due to recent weather conditions.
“Unfortunately this could take several weeks to complete repairs and could be further impacted depending on on-going weather conditions,” the spokesperson said.
“Despite the extent of the rainfall received over past weeks, we’ve had numerous calls from residents thanking us for the excellent work we are doing during difficult circumstances.”