Dangerous bridge closes Darkes Road

Wollongong City Council is appealing to residents to follow road closure signage at Darkes Road in Dapto after a portion of the road has been closed due to a failure in the bridge approach.

The road surface connecting to the second bridge on Darkes Road, just east of the Australian Motorlife Museum, has fallen away leaving a significant gap on the south-west corner of the bridge.

“This road has been closed as an urgent matter of public safety and I ask that people refrain from driving past the roadblocks and ignoring the illuminated VMS signage,’’ Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said.

“If you see photographs of the road, it’s clearly damaged and you can see that it has been undermined by the creek during recent wet weather. No one would think this is safe to drive across.

“I appreciate that for residents who use Darkes Road to get to and from their homes or to visit the Integral Energy Park this is an inconvenience, and we didn’t make the decision to close the road lightly. But our residents’ safety is our number one priority.’’

Council has inspected the bridge and have sought expert geotechnical advice on next steps for its repair. We will be looking to fast-track any works and will require the support of specialist contractors to carry out this work.

“We’re faced with many challenges across the city at the moment due to the ongoing weather conditions and the impact it is having on our infrastructure,’’ Wollongong City Council General Manager Greg Doyle said.

“We’re prioritising work to key locations and roads and the fact the rain really isn’t letting up is adding to this challenge. We’re doing our best to mobilise as many of our staff and contractors as possible to priority jobs to get the city back on its feet, and to keep people moving around.”

Harry Graham Drive, Mt Keira Road – between Picton Road and the RFS Depot – and Clive Bissell Drive – at Mt Ousley Road – also remain closed as work is carried out to repair the roads following landslips, water overflow and fallen trees. The roads are closed to all users, including cyclists. While Harry Graham Drive is closed as further assessments are completed, we’re focussed on reopening Mt Keira Road and Clive Bissell Drive as soon as possible.

“We had work scheduled for Harry Graham Drive already, but this weather has thrown a real curveball at us in terms of that project,’’ Mr Doyle said.

“The land and the road surface on Harry Graham is so unstable at the moment, it’s unsafe to have anyone on the ground while we are carrying out work. At Mt Keira Road and on Clive Bissell Drive we’ve had teams working across the week to repair the rockfall protection barriers that have done their job and been damaged in the process, cleaning silt off the road surface and cleaning out the drainage systems.’’

Cr Bradbery said he thanked the community for their patience as staff worked to reopen Mt Keira Road and Clive Bissell Drive as soon as possible.

“It is important we carry out this work methodically and safely and it’s better for our staff and our community that we’re able to do this on closed roads,’’ he said.

“Anyone who has driven Mt Keira Road knows just how winding and narrow it can be in parts with blind corners. Our works crews can better focus on their tasks when they’re not having to worry about a car or a cyclist coming unexpectedly around a bend towards them.”

Council encourages our community to check the Live Traffic NSW App or the Live Traffic website before heading out for the latest updates on road closures.

Caption: Road damage on Mt Keira Road.