THE massive task of repairing infrastructure following the recent natural disaster in the city is continuing.

Wollongong City Council crews continue to be on the ground carrying out clean up works on beaches and at culverts and creeks after the damaging rain event earlier this month.

Council’s focus has also widened to include the next phase of recovery works as well as planning for repairs to damaged infrastructure like the entranceway into Helensburgh Railway Station.

At Bulli Beach, the beach access path was one of the casualties from the recent weather event as a deluge of stormwater ripped up the planks and carved away the sand dunes.

Council crews have repaired the Bulli Beach walkway to access the beach and reopened the Whartons Creek to the ocean.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said following the heavy rain and flooding it was necessary to phase the city’s recovery. While energy was initially dedicated to addressing areas of safety and getting the city operational, it’s now time to move into addressing more longer-term challenges that result from a natural disaster.

“Council is closely assessing and identifying priorities for action across local infrastructure, beaches, buildings, footpaths and waterways,” Cr Bradbery said.

“In Helensburgh, for example, we’ve seen extensive damage to sections of roads near the Helensburgh Train Station carpark. We’ve investigated the extent of the damage and installed temporary traffic arrangements while we get started planning how we will go about the repair work.

Cr Bradbery said the work is complex and cannot be tackled alone by Council, with talks underway with key agencies, as well as the NSW and Federal Government.

“We look forward to continuing this collaborative approach moving forward,” he said.

Council also continues to work with the NSW Reconstruction Authority as they support Wollongong as a natural disaster recovery area.

As the initial clean up works are wrapping up, Council is working on is the cleanup of beaches, pools, and rock pools, as well as making sure public spaces that host Anzac Day events and ceremonies are in good shape.

Council’s Director Infrastructure and Works Jo Page said some of the day-to-day maintenance and repair work of their local roads and public areas is taking a little longer than usual.

“Our workload has increased drastically as we respond to the weather impacts of the Saturday 6 April floods. With our priority originally on supporting flood impacted residents get rid of their waste, we estimate we’re about 25 per cent of the way through cleanup of Council owned land and assets – that’s our pools, beaches, parks, local roads, drains and footpaths,” Ms Page said.

“Our Dune Crews, for example, have been up and down the coast cleaning up beaches that have been scarped by storms and tides and remove debris. At Bulli Beach, the beach access path was one of the casualties from the recent weather event as a deluge of stormwater ripped up the planks and carved away the sand dunes.

“Our crews have since laid down more sand and repaired the Bulli Beach walkway so that people can safely access the beach. The crews have also reopened the Whartons Creek opening to the beach which will help the beach recover naturally over time.”

For updates on major infrastructure recovery, keep an eye on Council’s website 

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