The state government highway overpass at Maitland could be useless next time the city has a flood like the one that hit the region in April.
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Construction is under way on the New England Highway overpass, which is part of the government’s $45 million Maitland roundabouts project, near the Church Street roundabout.
But last month’s super storm and resulting flood has raised questions about whether the overpass was the infrastructure the city needed.
The flood caused traffic chaos in Maitland for a week while the New England Highway was impassable because of floodwater between the railway station and Maitland hospital intersections.
This meant that traffic from Maitland’s western suburbs had to funnel through the city to reach the eastern side of town.
Some motorists reported that it took almost two hours to travel from Rutherford to Maitland during the height of the traffic jam.
When complete, the overpass will not be usable the next time flood levels reach a similar height in the city because it will rejoin the highway at a point that was under water during the flood.
Last month was the second time the highway had been cut by floodwater at Maitland since 2007.
Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison said the impact of flooding on the use of the overpass should have been considered during the planning process.
“There is no doubt that the scale of the storm events in April was unprecedented in our city,” she said.
“However, even during the Pasha Bulker event of 2007 the CBD was cut off from the rest of Maitland on major roads outside the CBD.
“There is no doubt that storm events in our region have been increasing in severity and frequency over the last eight years.
“The government needs to ensure that all our roads, particularly the New England Highway, are safe and usable during times of flood.”
Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter and Central Coast Scot MacDonald referred the Mercury’s questions to Roads Minister Duncan Gay.
When the Mercury asked Roads and Maritime Services whether it would be possible to redirect funds from the overpass to flood-proofing the highway, a spokesperson said RMS would work on flood mitigation strategies with Maitland City Council, the Office of Environment and Heritage, NSW Department of Planning and Environment and NSW State Emergency Services.
“Investigations centre around possible improvements to mitigate the future flooding of the Hunter River as part of a holistic approach for the floodplain,” she said.
“Natural disaster assistance funding is being made available to councils to quickly restore key infrastructure including roads and bridges damaged by the recent storm and floods.”
