Orange City Council has diverted a construction crew from the road project on Lucknow's Beasley Road to help with pothole repairs on the city's roads.
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Since November 4 Orange has received 223 mm of rain, with three months average rainfall falling in 10 days which has had an impact on the city's roads.
No one likes to see potholes, but after this much rain they are inevitable.
- Mayor Reg Kidd
Along with routine work, council staff are working their way through a list of damaged roads and are giving a priority to Clergate Road, Hill Street, Anson Street near the Margaret Street and the James Sheahan High area, and Perc Griffith Way.
The patching crew is prioritising high speed 100km/h roads on entrance roads into Orange as well as the northern bypass.
Orange Mayor Reg Kidd said it was great to have the wet weather, but unfortunately that meant more potholes.
He urged the community to be patient and drive with care.
"I love to see water flowing over the wall at Suma Park," Cr Reg Kidd said. "Long term Orange residents understand that when the ground is so wet, any tiny cracks in a road surface can lead to a pothole. We're getting on with the work by re-allocating crews to make the roads as safe as we can.
"No one likes to see potholes, but after this much rain they are inevitable.
"We've had a good run during a long period of dry weather, but this rain has led to some unavoidable damage to the road surface. The more a car drives over a damaged surface, the quicker a pothole will appear."
Along small-scale repair work, the Council has successfully secured funding for Clergate Road through the State's Resources for Regions fund, which together with the Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program funding secured from the Federal Government, will see this project go out to tender in the new year.
Other roads in this year's budget for upgrades are: Huntley Rd from Ash St the Bloomfield entrance, Dalton Street/Leeds Parade roundabout through to Railway Crossing, Moulder Street from Lords Place to Anson Street and another section from Hill Street to Clinton Street; and a section of Forest Road at the intersection with Hiney Road, including lowering the crest in the road.
Other jobs in the budget are: resealing Icely Road from the NDR to Bridge 1, Anson Street from Margaret Street to Matthews Avenue, asphalt travel lanes; Aerodrome Road from Gander to Forest Road, stabilise and reseal Byng Street, Woodward St to Sampson St asphalt travel lanes.
Cr Kidd said potholes are a '"season thing".
"Potholes are part-and-parcel of long wet spells. We know that filling a pot hole with asphalt and gravel is a short-term band-aid but it's about making the roads safe," he said.
"Staff are routinely checking the conditions of both city streets and rural roads, and that data drives the priority list for work. There's also an online form on the Council website, where residents can report the location of a pothole and I encourage residents to use it."
It can be found at Report It - https://www.orange.nsw.gov.au/report-it/
