Roads a priority for Labor's local government election team as potholes plague Port Stephens

While the rain has not been as intense as the 'east coast low' in March, the two-day downpour was enough to damage road surfaces and open up potholes which had been patched up just a few months earlier.

Coming in for special attention were Port Stephens Drive, Marsh Road, Shoal Bay Road (outside Harbourside Haven), Lemon Tree Passage Road and various roads in Medowie.

However, overwhelmingly the roadway to be most impacted has been Gan Gan Road between Boat Harbour and the newly developed $7 million koala sanctuary, which is expected to draw thousands of driving tourists each year.

Outspoken community advocate, Corlette's Margaret Wilkinson, said that potholes and road repairs generally in Port Stephens had been neglected by successive councils over many years.

"One of the problems is that many of the roads on the Tomaree peninsula were built on wetlands and the council has resorted to patch-up jobs instead of going to the root of the damage," she said.

"The current situation has been compounded by years of drought followed by the recent flooding. I would support a rate rise if the council was willing to use that money repairing roads, not on monuments."

A Port Stephens Council spokesperson told the Examiner that they were well aware of the large number of potholes as a result of continual wet weather, "which is causing the road pavement to break up more than usual and at a quicker rate".

"We prioritise pothole repair based on risk, taking into account traffic volume and the size and location of potholes. We have 18 staff in our road crew who fix potholes using cold mix, hot mix and heavy patching."

The spokesperson said that in drier times the council does more permanent repairs to potholes.

"However, in this wet period, the high water table combined with consistent rain is creating more potholes than usual. Our focus now is on road safety by filling the potholes with cold mix to make them safe and coming back with heavy patching for the key locations."

Asked about the idea of digging further into the hole and compacting it before pouring the hot mix, and whether the the council would be prepared to investigate or adopt this method, the spokesperson responded: "Digging out and investigating the cause of a pothole is a good method."

At the Port Stephens Council meeting on Tuesday evening, Ryan Palmer's Mayoral Minute to increase the council's road rehabilitation budget by $3 million - to be funded by current property sales - was approved.

The Mayoral Minute "acknowledged Port Stephens' unprecedented rainfall events and impacts this has had on the road network".

Roads that will be targeted for resurfacing include: Port Stephens Drive, Gan Gan Road, Ferodale Road, Fairlands Road, Italia Road, Lemon Tree Passage Road, East Seaham Road and Swan Bay Road.

"An expanded heavy patch program will also continue to address failed areas of pavement caused by water damage," Cr Palmer said. "This is on top of council's committed $2.6 million in reseals this financial year."

The community focus on potholes has coincided with the announcement this week from the Labor Party election candidates that if elected they "will deliver the largest roads budget in Port Stephens history" and that they are committed to fixing potholes, resealing and repairing roads sooner and to a higher standard.

"The roads in Port Stephens are in a state of disrepair and local families are having their family cars damaged by potholes, causing safety concerns and making our streets look cheap and uncared for," said mayoral and east ward candidate Leah Anderson.

"We know this is the number one issue on many people's minds, with the number of residents satisfied with council's efforts at maintaining local roads, according to the council's annual satisfaction survey, dropping sharply from 75 per cent in 2018 to 68 per cent in 2020.

"This is why we will deliver a roads budget that prioritises local roads. If elected, my team will initiate an immediate review to work out which roads have the most critical safety issues, and we will prioritise them. We will make sure they get done, and we will make sure the list of roads is open, transparent and fair."

West ward councillor Giacomo Arnott said that barely a day went by without someone complaining to the council or on social media about the state of local roads.

"They are a disgrace and council's inaction has been a disgrace," he said.

"At the February 9, 2021, council meeting, council was considering options for allocating a $2.4million grant. This was a very rare grant that could be put towards the resealing of roads.

"I moved a motion requesting that the entire $2.4million be spent on local roads, rather than the $1million proposed.

"The motion did not even get seconded so was unsuccessful. Every other councillor in attendance that night refused to put an extra $1.4million towards local roads, dooming some roads to more years without action.

"It is a fact that the more funding that goes into road reseals, the less funding is needed longer-term to maintain those roads while they wait for a reseal.

"This $2.4million investment would have achieved significant cost savings to council, and instead the other councillors refused to act."

Central ward candidate Jason Wells said that Port Stephens Council's roads program was struggling to keep up with the crumbling state of local roads, and people everywhere were noticing.

"This is an issue that is universal, and requires swift action by a team that will actually listen and take action," Mr Wells said.

"We will make sure that local families taking the kids to school or travelling to work, or visiting our world-class beaches and businesses, can do so without playing dodge the pothole on every road they drive on."

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