Uprooted trees and large holes in the ground after recent rain have left many public access roads, logging routes and fire trails impassable in Australia’s largest native forest.
Key points:
- Three years ago, the trails in the Pilliga were criss-crossed with enormous cracks that were then repaired
- There is a shortage of machinery available to do repair work as there are similar repairs to be done all over the region
- NSW Forestry Corporation says the repair bill for the recent rain damage will be huge
Authorities are racing to access large parts of the Pilliga Forest in north-central New South Wales to assess how many of the roads are hazardous.
So far it looks to be a majority of them and the public is being warned to exercise extreme caution when driving in the area.
“Road surfaces are certainly a worry,” said NSW Forestry Corporation cypress production and fire manager Conan Rossler.
“We actually had a fatality last month on a road in a state forest, so this is a real issue.”
With fire season upon us, the priority for NSW Forestry Corporation is to clear and repair the fire trails so that Rural Fire Service trucks can get access.
Public access roads are also being given a high level of attention, but Mr Rossler said they had not been able to get out there and evaluate much of the area yet.
The roads are crisscrossed with fallen trees, there is erosion eating away at the sides, and often enormous holes that you may not see until you’re right on top of it.
About two hours away in the Goonoo Forest, private landholder John Denham said the recent rains had made the roads near his house significantly worse as well.
“Freemans Road has been in a bad condition for a long time, at least since 2019. But the unprecedented rains have made large parts of it un-trafficable,” he said.
Mr Denham said two RFS vehicles were bogged on the road in 2019 but authorities had not done work on it, even afterwards.
“The road is now a total mess,” he said.
While the road is not heavily trafficked, Mr Denham has had visitors bogged there.
‘Repairs will be significant’
In 2020, about $300,000 was spent to fix innumerable deep cracks that formed across the Pilliga after drought-busting rain.
Mr Rossler estimated that the repair bill for the damage after the recent rains had already added to over $200,000.
“It is very, very significant damage, and we are nowhere close to addressing the issue,” he said.
NSW Forestry has put signs up warning the public of bad road conditions, but there are large parts of the forest workers haven’t been able to get to yet.
“There are hundreds and hundreds of kilometres of road network through the Pilliga, and we are focusing on the high-priority areas first,” Mr Rossler said.
The other constraint for repair work, Mr Rossler said, was a high demand for heavy machinery as everyone in the region was dealing with similar problems.
That demand means it is getting more difficult to access what’s needed to do the repairs.
Motorists in the area are being urged to drive slowly, drive to the conditions, and keep a sharp eye out for hazards.
