It’s time for the state government to raise Cessnock Road at Testers Hollow.
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For the second time in nine months, the road was inundated on Wednesday causing a lengthy closure.
It meant people travelling between the Maitland and Kurri Kurri, or from Maitland to the Hunter Expressway, had to find another route to get where they needed to be in the driving rain.
The floodwater was still rising at 1.30pm on Wednesday.
Residents are understandably fed up with the recurrent flooding of the low-lying stretch of the main road.
They are calling on Roads and Maritime Services, through the state government, to raise and floodproof the section of road.
Frustrated residents started a petition last year to present to Maitland City Council, Cessnock City Council and the Roads and Maritime Services to urge them to raise the 500-metre stretch of road.
The petition attracted about 2000 signatures in a couple of weeks, but didn’t spur any action.
While Testers Hollow wasn’t the only place that was flooded in Maitland on Wednesday, it was arguably the most notable.
The last time it went under, during the April super storm, there were a flurry of calls for the government to fix the road – but nothing was done.
In the weeks after the super storm, the road became the subject of political debate as Labor pushed the government to upgrade the road, to no avail.
It was less than a year between road closures this time around, so it’s impossible to tell how soon it will be before Testers Hollow floods again.
When the water from this week’s rain subsides, something should be done quickly to make sure the road isn’t inundated in the future.