MALLABULA residents were thoroughly fed up with the proposed $1,700,000 makeover of Tanilba Rd being deferred.

So was Port Stephens Council.

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Work was just about to start when the ‘big wet’ hit earlier this year, with Alan Gibson’s Tanilba-based weather station recording the annual average rainfall by the end of April.

This meant that Council’s roadwork gangs were diverted to filling potholes and washed out culverts and repairing landslips.

It was therefore decided Council would employ a contractor and the work has begun in earnest.

The greatest challenge is to get the sub-strata drainage pipes in place which need to be connected to the watercourses which flow into the bay.

This is why there is such a huge pile of pipes stacked in Caswell Reserve and in the park opposite the end of Wychewood Ave.

The work is expected to be completed by November 2022 and diversions of traffic will be needed during the months ahead.

Commenting on the project, Port Stephens Councillor Steve Tucker said that he planned to retire at the last council election, but ran again because he wanted to see the two big roadwork projects he fought for come to fruition.

“Residents are entitled to complain about the roads but they must realise the enormous cost of a complete rebuild,” he stated.

“Tilligerry gets more road funding per ratepayer than other areas of the shire,” he added.

Those residents whose properties front on to the newly rebuilt roadworks will be expected to partly pay for the kerbing and guttering.

“It’s a small price to pay,” remarked Cr Tucker.

“The increased value of their homes will more than compensate for the contributions they make.”

By Geoff WALKER