Questions are being raised about recent repair works to a major outback road after it was forced to close due to recent rainfall.
Key points:
- Roxby Council chief executive Roy Blight says the road is a major thoroughfare, and the closure is disruptive
- Mr Blight says the road needs to be rebuilt and is weatherproof
- Department of Infrastructure and Transport says the damage is being assessed
The Olympic Dam Highway connects the towns of Woomera, Roxby Downs, Andamooka, as well as major mining, pastoral and tourism operations to Australia's sealed road network.
A section of the highway near its offshoot point from the major Stuart Highway sustained damage after more than 70 millimetres of rain fell in the area.
It was the same portion of the road that was completely washed away during floods in January and subsequently repaired by the state Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DIT).
Roxby Council chief executive Roy Blight said the road was a major thoroughfare, and the closure was disruptive.
"There are continually people coming to and from Roxby Downs. Their ability to conduct personal travel and for goods and services to be taken in and out of the region have been greatly impacted," Mr Blight said.
"There is the alternative of air travel from Olympic Dam, and I know of people today [who were initially going to drive] who have had to change travel plans to now fly to Adelaide for medical appointments."
Mr Blight said more weatherproof upgrades to the road after the washout in January had been deferred for more significant routes.
"We promoted that in the restoration of that road, [that] a more substantive crossing be created, and I think that has been reinforced," he said.
"I think from a community point of view, there'll be an expectation that, 'Look, this is the second time it's happened in a year. The priority will need to move forward'.
"We need to make sure when the road is rebuilt. It is more robust and more resilient."
Vital connection severed
Northern region chair of Livestock SA David Bell said that the closure of the road was an embarrassment.
"You have a bit of rain like this, and it completely stops traffic to central Australia," Mr Bell said.
"The government has to look at this, at bituminising more roads around, so they've got other access routes to these points to keep Australia moving.
"It's a bit embarrassing that one rain event in one area shoots down the whole middle of Australia. It's out of sight, out of mind, but it happens way too often in the bush, unfortunately."
He said while there were more reasons for farmers to be happy during the weather, the negative impacts need to be addressed.
"You've got to be really organised with moving stock," Mr Bell said.
"You've got to have them booked in up to a month in advance, so if there's a block, it can throw things out for weeks."
Department to reassess the road
Department of Infrastructure and Transport's Mick Lorenz said that while the extent of the damage was still being assessed, it was likely that the surface would need to be replaced.
"The road is acting like a dam at the moment by holding back the water," Mr Lorenz said.
"It is likely that the pavement will be quite wet from all the water, so the likely repair will be to take that top layer of pavement off and replace that."
He said repairs to the road after the January washout consisted of ballast backfill and were only intended to be a temporary measure.
"The existing culverts were insufficient to take the water that occurred in January," Mr Lorenz said.
"We'll upgrade that to a new design standard and put new culverts in there to a larger size.
"The other thing we're looking at is whether we lift the level of the road through that area as well."