RESIDENTS of Anna Bay and Boat Harbour are experiencing frustration following the closure of a stretch of Gan Gan Road less than two days after it had been reopened.

The segment of road between Frost Road at One Mile and the intersection with Nelson Bay Drive had been closed for several weeks so that it could be widened and resurfaced.

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On Tuesday 18 April Port Stephens Council announced via Facebook that the current stage of work was complete.

However, by the afternoon of Wednesday 19 the barriers had been put back in place.

“Unfortunately following the reopening of the road, the new pavement material hasn’t performed as expected and work is underway to correct it,” Port Stephens Council posted to the social media site.

“For safety reasons, we’ve had to re-close the road while it is repaired.

“We will continue to provide updates on the duration of the road closure and the likely reopening date.”

The roadworks are part of the Australian Government Black Spot program, funding work to improve roads that are deemed a high risk zone for traffic collisions.

Local residents made their frustrations known in their comments on the social media posts, prompting the Council page to offer a more detailed explanation.

“The pavement failures aren’t a result of the way we’ve constructed the road or the sealing of the road.

“It’s been caused by the significant and unexpected infiltration of groundwater from beneath the road, made worse by the heavy rain.”

There is currently no projected end date for the roadworks.

By Lindsay HALL