Councillors at the Central Desert Regional Council were counting their pennies today as the cost of repairs to the Council’s road network was presented.  The heavy rains during January have caused extensive damage to the Council’s 1,700km of roads.  “Most of our primary access roads have been heavily impacted” President Adrian Dixon noted.  “Council’s existing budget for road upgrades and repairs will not come close to covering what is needed to reinstate these roads.”

 The road to Nyirripi, a community 150km south west of Yuendumu, has only just re-opened after the rains in January.  Council grading crews have been working hard to grade a track along that road so the store truck can resume deliveries.  “The Nyirripi Road has been extremely badly damaged” reported Glenn Marshall, Director Works.  “Our engineers have assessed the road conditions and expect to be facing repair costs in excess of $3 million on the Nyirripi Road alone.”

 Although the Nyirripi Road is now open, people wishing to use this road are warned to exercise extreme caution.  The Council was also advised of damage to the main access roads to Engawala and Nturiya and to virtually all secondary roads.

The Council is in negotiation with the NT Government in an attempt to fund the estimated $5 million repair bill.

In the midst of the stories of water damage and destruction as a result of the extreme weather events in Central Australia over Christmas it is nice to hear a good news story once in while.  Certainly for the community members of Wilora this year's heavy rains were almost a non-event.  Thanks to work undertaken by the Central Desert Regional Council works team, flooding of the houses in Wilora is a thing of the past.

Regional Works Manager at Ti Tree Rodney Baird explains "in 2011 several Territory Housing dwellings flooded 2 feet deep after stormwater surged into the community from the north-east."  Council subsequently surveyed the area and identified that a drain installed on the east of the community would divert stormwater south into Stirling Swamp, 60km north of Ti Tree.

Council's local Indigenous works team used Council graders, loaders and tipper trucks to construct the drain, working closely with community members and traditional owners to ensure no sacred sites or other valued areas were disturbed.

The big rains this January saw water try to sweep into the community again, but it was captured and diverted by the new drain. All houses remained high and dry.  Council President Adrian Dixon said "This is a great example of a local fix for a local problem. Council proudly supports its local Indigenous employees to improve the lives of local residents."  Local residents David Mbitjana and Denise Dinnie said "It was so good that no water flooded into our houses this time"'.  Senior Elder Rebecca Numina remarked "We could hear the water coming down but we didn't worry because the drain took it all away".

For more information please contact Glenn Marshall, Director Works on (08) 8958 9520.