The images of the collapsed culvert on Foreshore Drive at Corlette and the subsequent road closure to traffic has attracted much finger pointing over the cause and widespread debate over its rebuild options.
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For Port Stephens Council, Foreshore Drive is a key focus as the maintenance continues after the devastating and severe rain event in March.
Other priorities include repairing damage caused by landslips, pumping water, and patching potholes.
Facilities and services manager Greg Kable said that repairs to Foreshore Drive would be completed by the end of 2021.
"We're working with Transport for NSW to secure funding under a natural disaster claim and we're expecting to know more about design and time-frames by mid-May," he said.
"A full Environmental Impact Statement has already been conducted and will be used for replacement works. The wetland is a precious environmental asset and will benefit with the new structure.
"In terms of design, what we know already is that the replacement structure will also allow for bikes and pedestrians.
Roz Armstrong, president of the Mambo Wetlands Landcare and Conservation Group, said that a study of the total area of the wetlands and the impact of its urban surrounds was needed and has suggested the construction of Bailey Bridge as an alternative fix.
"Our letter to the council called for a full assessment of the area would include a solution to the Mambo Creek crossing that would suit residents and the wetlands," Ms Armstrong said.
"The reality is that the one in 100 year event was the total amount of rain that fell over a five day period. The culvert failed on March 18, the first day of the storm, after only 150mm of rain had failed. This was an rainfall that has been exceeded many times in the last 140 years of rainfall records."
Ms Armstrong said that the last thing the community needed from council was another 'quick fix' to the culvert damage and Foreshore Drive.
"A bridge over the inlet, which would allow tidal water, regardless of weather, to flow freely in and out of the wetlands, is a reasonable idea," she said.
"This will take time and money to plan and build, however, with a combination of state disaster funding and low borrowing rates, a bridge is well within the financial means of council."
Port Stephens marine scientist Iain Watt described the Mambo Wetlands as a valuable natural asset, a "green space" set within the urban areas of Salamander Bay and Corlette.
"With growing urbanisation these areas over time will become more valuable to the community for aesthetic, recreational, educational activities and providing a real connection with nature," he said.
"The library, shopping centre and urban developments to the east and west encroach on the Mambo Wetlands, while Salamander Way fractures the system to the south.
"Mambo wetlands should be an example of sustainable urban planning incorporating the natural processes of the wetlands into urban planning processes.
"To sustainably manage these wetlands will require a better understanding of the system and processes if they are to meet their potential role in natural flood mitigation and urban planning in the future, particularly if as predicted, future weather events exceed recent events."
He suggested that any future council management plans should incorporate the entire wetland system including the areas to the south of Salamander Way extending to Nelson Bay Road, which recent experience showed is susceptible to flooding in severe rain events.
- Related Reading: Culvert collapse was a 'disaster waiting to happen'
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