Shoalhaven City Council prioritising pothole patches on 'coastal village entrance' roads before Christmas holidays

In a motion put forth at council's Monday evening (November 28) meeting, Cr Liza Butler proposed a list of 19 roads for immediate patching.

It sought 'a substantial additional effort... in the weeks immediately leading up to the holiday period'; the list of roads included:

Cr Butler's motion raised safety concerns, with holidaymakers with no knowledge of the current trying road conditions due to descend on the Shoalhaven in a few weeks.

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"I am already hearing several stories about cars being run off the road when a car coming the other way swerves to miss a pothole," Cr Butler's motion read.

"Holiday makers that are unfamiliar with our roads, and the poor state of our roads, will make the situation even more dangerous.

"Our coastal villages are all one road in and one road out, and the amount of cars travelling on these roads will create even more damage.

"By undertaking urgent repairs prior to the Christmas period, it will help mitigate accidents during this period."

Roads have been at the centre of discussion for much of this year, as Shoalhaven City Council scrambles to fix an estimated $80M in road damages from ongoing severe weather.

It is calling out for contractors to take on major rebuild packages, and neighbouring Shellharbour City Council has sent extra crews to help with the interim patching effort.

As council's city services director Paul Keech explained, they are working with limited resources, and simultaneously navigating bureaucracy to get proper fixes funded and contractors on the ground.

Speaking frankly to councillors on Monday evening, he said the 'filling phase' (putting in pothole patches) keeps the roads somewhat usable.

He acknowledged the situation was frustrating for all involved, but patches were only the bare minimum until major repairs could begin.

"Nobody like to be in a filling phase. Nobody wins." Mr Keech said.

"It's a terrible place to be, but that's where we are.

"It's all about trying to stop the cars swerving and hitting power poles; or coming off the road; going into the opposite lane; breaking their wheels or breaking their axles.

"It's about buying us time - that's what it boils down to."

Since the bushfires, Shoalhaven roads have endured 11 natural disasters.

An interactive map of all natural disaster-related roadworks, and their projected completion times, has been added to the Shoalhaven City Council website.

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