Trucks transporting fill to the Jaspers Brush Airfield where four large areas are being raised have destroyed parts of the road. 

Shoalhaven councillor Andrew Guile labelled it “Shoalhaven’s worst road” as he watched trucks rolling past on Thursday.

The airfield owner has an approved development application from council for the works, however it is not yet known whether that approval contains a condition that the road must be repaired.

Residents said they did not want to be named individually for fear of retribution but were united in their complaints to council about the issue.

Apart from the complete destruction of the road surface in most parts, residents said they had to put up with large amounts of dust and noise.

“I’ve had one four-wheel-drive bottom out through one section of damaged road and another vehicle with a dented sump,” one resident said.

Another said at one point there were up to 12 trucks on the road.

Residents said they had contacted a number of councillors on the matter over the past six months.

Cr Guile met with some residents on Thursday.

“There is a real concern here that this road will be destroyed and left that way,” he said.

He said he was also worried council had placed gravel road signs quite a long way up on the sealed section of the road. 

“I hope that isn’t an indication that once the road is ruined they will just grade off the tar and make it a gravel road,” he said.

“The trucks generate a large amount of dust through here and as this is an old historic dairy area most of the houses were built close to the road.

“Dust is a real health concern for these residents,” he said.

“When the road is wet the trucks’ weight is causing the surface and subsurface to heave up and then water gets in and breaks it up further.”

Cr Guile will table a motion at the next council meeting directing council get the road fixed and commit to getting it done by the end of this financial year.

“What I don’t want to hear is that council is looking into the development application to see what action can be taken,” he said.

“There is no excuse for not repairing this road as soon as the trucks have finished,” he said. 

Owner of Coordinated Logistics, the transport company bringing in the material, Mark Nelson said he had been in regular contact with council since beginning the job, requesting repairs.

“This road needed repair work before we started,” he said.

“I got in contact with council’s maintenance division and as part of their repair they just removed the tar. The road was so potholed they ripped that section up.

“So that has added enormously to the dust problem,” Mr Nelson said.

Normally in this situation a water-cart would be used to wet the road and reduce dust, however Mr Nelson said he would walk off the job before he watered the road.

“I told council this week I wouldn’t do it on safety grounds, but also because I don’t think I should be watering their road.

“Imagine if I watered that road which has a train line going through it. I’m not about to risk someone’s safety by making it muddy and slippery leading up to that crossing. 

“Imagine the consequences.

“I’ve already put about $20,000 worth of gravel on the lower section of that road because it was in such bad condition it was impassable in the wet.”

Mr Nelson said council was aware when it approved the DA that up to 90,000 tonnes of material would be coming into the site, and that it would take about 3000 truck movements.

“What did they think that was going to do to the road?” 

Concerns had also been raised about what the material being transported contained.

Mr Nelson said his operation had been audited by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the fill had been tested and found to be safe.

“The EPA is trying to divert material from landfill around the state, whether it’s dirt or coal wash,” Mr Nelson said.

“Some of it is coming from building sites in Sydney but there’s nothing nasty in it.

“We’re not down here at midnight trying to hide stuff. It’s all done in broad daylight and highly visible.”

He said he couldn't put a firm time frame on when the work would be finished other than to say it was past the halfway mark.

“It’s the nature of the thing. I don’t have sources that are going to say they can send me 10 trucks every day. The numbers fluctuate.

“We try to keep it to 30 trucks a day maximum, but some days it’s 40 and some days it’s 10 trucks.”