Road conditions floods NSW to VIC to SA
Nov 13, 2022 21:47:55 GMT 10
SA Hunter and tactile like this
Post by rosebud on Nov 13, 2022 21:47:55 GMT 10
Oct 7, 2022 8:40:45 GMT 10.5 tactile said:
I went for a flying trip to mid-central NSW over last weekend (Coonabarabran), and from the state of the roads there I'd be stocking up on wheel rims for your vehicles! They say it's worse in QLD.
I spent most of my time dodging potholes, closed or heavily damaged roads and really poor road repairs. Is this the new normal?
Two weeks ago I travelled back to SA from NSW. If you thought the roads were bad before the rain and floods, they are much worse now. On my way across to NSW, 2 weeks previously, I travelled the Murray Valley HWY until I got to Rutherglen, where all roads were closed on Oct 14th. I waited till the next morning and was able to continue my journey by heading south to meet the Hume Hwy at Springhurst, then north to Albury and on to my destination, north of Canberra. All the way across I was listening to the radio for flood updates and hearing that places like Shepparton and Charlton were flooded and impassable. Lots of water over the roads and hidden potholes. Saw a 5-ton van nearly come to grief when it hit a series of potholes hidden under water.
On the way home, on the Murrumbateman Rd, I came across a 4wd and caravan which had been washed up against the side of a bridge. No signs to say that the road was closed. Police tape around it and seemed to have happened the previous night or day. The water had gone down but was still flowing over the crash barriers on one side, so I had to turn around and detour down the Federal Hwy to North Canberra to get onto Barton Hwy to get back up to the Hume. The first of many flood-induced detours. Waterways were overflowing everywhere. It was very difficult to see where banks of streams and rivers were, even shoulders of the road were sometimes hidden by water.
I decided to pull into Little Billabong Rest Stop, about 3/4 hour before Albury. As I was pulling off the hwy, I hit a deep pothole and blew my front left tyre. I grabbed the first likely man I saw and asked him to change it, which he very kindly did and wouldn't take any payment. (I'm too old to change tyres safely.) I went to 3 tyre suppliers in Albury before I found one with my size tyre. While I was having it fitted, I was talking to another lady who was also having a tyre replaced. She said that she blew her tyre in the same pothole, as did at least 2 other cars and a truck. Spent the night in Albury and planned the rest of my route across flooded Victoria. (BTW, talking to a man at church who said a lot of modern cars don't have a proper spare tyre or even tools to replace a tyre!)
There was no way I could go home via the Murray Valley Hwy. Echuca and Swan Hill, which I'd come through on my way to NSW, were cut off by flood waters. I was using Vic Roads info, but even that was changing quickly, so I stopped at every major town to check conditions ahead. So I ended up going through Shepparton, Bendigo and Charlton, all of which were flooded with closed roads when I came across, then straight up to Mildura. You could see where the roads had previously been covered in a metre or more of floodwater. I have never experienced as many potholes as I did on that trip. A lot were hidden by water, but at least the roads were open again. I followed a B-double for quite a while, because he was a good indicator of road conditions ahead. I could see when he swerved, slowed or hit a pothole. Another truck came towards us flashing his lights, so we both slowed down. There was a very wet kangaroo hopping along in the water on the other side of the road. As I slowed down, he turned across in front of me and fell over about 2m in front of my car. He looked half drowned. Got himself up, continued on into the water, at least a foot deep on the other side of the road. Poor thing!
The roads were in a very poor state with numerous potholes and washaways. You could see many spots where the floodwater had underwashed the bitumen. In some places there were signs to say "Water over the Road", but mostly you had to guess. It's going to take an enormous amount of time and money to get these roads repaired, not to mention the flood damage to homes, businesses and farmland.
It's one thing to see the effects of floods on the news, but it's completely different to see it first hand. Even more so if it affects your own property. I got off lightly. It only cost me a blown tyre, and extra money for fuel, accommodation etc. It was a very challenging trip, but I was glad of the experience and happy that I was able to manage it as an older woman confidently travelling alone.
So, Tactile, this could very well be the new normal for quite some time!
I went for a flying trip to mid-central NSW over last weekend (Coonabarabran), and from the state of the roads there I'd be stocking up on wheel rims for your vehicles! They say it's worse in QLD.
I spent most of my time dodging potholes, closed or heavily damaged roads and really poor road repairs. Is this the new normal?
Two weeks ago I travelled back to SA from NSW. If you thought the roads were bad before the rain and floods, they are much worse now. On my way across to NSW, 2 weeks previously, I travelled the Murray Valley HWY until I got to Rutherglen, where all roads were closed on Oct 14th. I waited till the next morning and was able to continue my journey by heading south to meet the Hume Hwy at Springhurst, then north to Albury and on to my destination, north of Canberra. All the way across I was listening to the radio for flood updates and hearing that places like Shepparton and Charlton were flooded and impassable. Lots of water over the roads and hidden potholes. Saw a 5-ton van nearly come to grief when it hit a series of potholes hidden under water.
On the way home, on the Murrumbateman Rd, I came across a 4wd and caravan which had been washed up against the side of a bridge. No signs to say that the road was closed. Police tape around it and seemed to have happened the previous night or day. The water had gone down but was still flowing over the crash barriers on one side, so I had to turn around and detour down the Federal Hwy to North Canberra to get onto Barton Hwy to get back up to the Hume. The first of many flood-induced detours. Waterways were overflowing everywhere. It was very difficult to see where banks of streams and rivers were, even shoulders of the road were sometimes hidden by water.
I decided to pull into Little Billabong Rest Stop, about 3/4 hour before Albury. As I was pulling off the hwy, I hit a deep pothole and blew my front left tyre. I grabbed the first likely man I saw and asked him to change it, which he very kindly did and wouldn't take any payment. (I'm too old to change tyres safely.) I went to 3 tyre suppliers in Albury before I found one with my size tyre. While I was having it fitted, I was talking to another lady who was also having a tyre replaced. She said that she blew her tyre in the same pothole, as did at least 2 other cars and a truck. Spent the night in Albury and planned the rest of my route across flooded Victoria. (BTW, talking to a man at church who said a lot of modern cars don't have a proper spare tyre or even tools to replace a tyre!)
There was no way I could go home via the Murray Valley Hwy. Echuca and Swan Hill, which I'd come through on my way to NSW, were cut off by flood waters. I was using Vic Roads info, but even that was changing quickly, so I stopped at every major town to check conditions ahead. So I ended up going through Shepparton, Bendigo and Charlton, all of which were flooded with closed roads when I came across, then straight up to Mildura. You could see where the roads had previously been covered in a metre or more of floodwater. I have never experienced as many potholes as I did on that trip. A lot were hidden by water, but at least the roads were open again. I followed a B-double for quite a while, because he was a good indicator of road conditions ahead. I could see when he swerved, slowed or hit a pothole. Another truck came towards us flashing his lights, so we both slowed down. There was a very wet kangaroo hopping along in the water on the other side of the road. As I slowed down, he turned across in front of me and fell over about 2m in front of my car. He looked half drowned. Got himself up, continued on into the water, at least a foot deep on the other side of the road. Poor thing!
The roads were in a very poor state with numerous potholes and washaways. You could see many spots where the floodwater had underwashed the bitumen. In some places there were signs to say "Water over the Road", but mostly you had to guess. It's going to take an enormous amount of time and money to get these roads repaired, not to mention the flood damage to homes, businesses and farmland.
It's one thing to see the effects of floods on the news, but it's completely different to see it first hand. Even more so if it affects your own property. I got off lightly. It only cost me a blown tyre, and extra money for fuel, accommodation etc. It was a very challenging trip, but I was glad of the experience and happy that I was able to manage it as an older woman confidently travelling alone.
So, Tactile, this could very well be the new normal for quite some time!
