Nambucca Heads Mann Street scheduled for road rehabilitation

Throughout the majority of 2017 the main thoroughfare through the most populous town in the Valley has been little better than a goat track.

Nambucca Heads drivers have been witnessed playing chicken; deftly swerving into the path of oncoming traffic in order to miss the deepening crevices in their own lane.

But the daily rat run will be coming to an end with $300,000 worth of capital works funding allocated to rehabilitate the Mann St black spot before the end of February.

“That money will be used to completely rebuild the road, not just reseal it,” council general manager Michael Coulter said.

The works will occur between the Caltex service station and the roundabout on Mann St.

Further repairs will also be carried out in the near future to marry the two finished sections of road between the Palmer St intersection and the Caltex.

Each year a road inspector gives advice to the manager responsible for council’s annual capital works budget about which shire roads to prioritise for maintenance and renewal.

Resealing works are carried out on average once every ten years, and repaving around every twenty.

Sealed roads cost approximately three times more to maintain than unsealed roads.

“We have been doing progressive work on Mann St for a while,” Mr Coulter said.

Mr Coulter said that he often compares Nambucca roads to other Mid North Coast shires’.

“If you want to travel a really bad road, then try out the road from Taree to Old Bar,” Mr Coulter said.

“I personally think our roads and bridges are getting better, and they are better than the average.

“But sure, we can always get better.”

And Mr Coulter is satisfied that the council is increasingly in a fiscal position to meet grander capital works goals.

“The council has sufficient wherewithal to fix Mann St completely in the next two to three years,” Mr Coulter said.

“We have total loans of $45.361 million (a lot related to the dam) and $38 million invested.

“Because we build assets like the dam which will service generations of residents it is appropriate that these assets be financed over a long term. Otherwise there will be an inequitable burden on one generation. 

“This is the major reason why councils, and particularly general purpose councils with responsibility for water and sewerage, usually have significant borrowings.”

According to the Office of Local Government Financial Audit Services director James Sugumar, the Nambucca Shire Council sits well above the service-debt ratio benchmark and is a model to other councils of a similar size.