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Background to our dusty tale |
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Written by Andrew Hunter
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Saturday, 12 June 2004 |
 Hi everyone,
We came to Megan in 2003 after living for over 18 years in Kentucky (near Walcha) and 5 years before that at Mount Butler west of Armidale and before that near Uralla then Toodyay WA. When we saw Megan we fell in love with beautiful scenery, the peace and quiet and the never ending trees - something we didn't have a lot of in Kentucky. The image on the right shows the dust level when we first arrived here, after a car has past, this was in October 2003. You can see the dust trail in the distance, this is what anyone living on a gravel road could expect.
Having lived in the bush since 1978 we have experienced life on gravel roads (5 years at Mount Butler 1981 -1986 mostly drought years) and so we weren't put off by the thought of dust. I used to ride a motor bike on a gravel road 50 kms round trip every day to work in WA in 45 degree heat with no rain for months. So what I am saying here is that I am no city slicker blow in who expects kerbs, gutters and garbage collection. We haven't lived in a built up area since 1977 and that was Adelaide! Dust is a reality in the bush and can be lived with.
2003 was a very dry year by Dorrigo standards and the road was rough but the dust was what we expected. In early 2004 Bellingen Council conducted major maintenance on the road including resheeting the surface and within days of this 'maintenance' our problems began. The image lower right is about 15 months after the image above .
This was the first occassion that one of Council staff mentioned that the road base being used from White's Quarry was not up to the job and that it was a cost cutting measure. I wrote to the Council in October 2004 pointing this out and I was told that there was no funds available and that we were not the only people in the shire with this problem - it was due to the dry weather. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 September 2009 )
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Written by Andrew Hunter
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Thursday, 17 September 2009 |
 A passing traveller made this comment on the condition of the road in 2005 and the image was printed in the Coffs Advocate at that time.
In 2006 Engineer Edsall wrote "The dust problem associated with gravel roads is acknowledged but unfortunately it is not feasible for Council to seal all gravel roads ... there is currently a state wide review of the status of regional roads. Initial indications are that Main Road 120 may be reclassified as a local road. If this is the case “Repair” Program funding will be unavailable for this road. In addition downgrading of a regional road to a local road will have a significant and detrimental impact on Council’s road maintenance budget." Note he comments on the detrimental impact on the budget with no reference to residents quality of life. I responded " I did not request that the road be sealed. My main argument is the road base used in the last major work some two years ago is unsuitable for the purpose. Your own staff have off the record agreed that the base used does not bind properly. ...Recently some resurfacing was done along the road east of our property. The base used there appears to hold together better and certainly it is less dusty. We would be much happier if we simply had some respite to the dust and a surface that didn't break up into loose surface gravel within days of grading. Council continue to use the line that they don't have funds to seal the roads - this is a tactic they use to divert us from our argument. We have NEVER asked for the road to be sealed - we simply ask them to stop using the poor quality road material coming from White's Quarry which is polluting the entire shire. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 September 2009 )
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Council Admits it's Rubbish |
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Written by Andrew Hunter
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Thursday, 17 September 2009 |
 In this response to my email of August 2006 Engineer Edsall finally admits the material being used is "of low plasticity. That is, the material does not have much fine material to bind the coarser gravel particles. " IN OTHER WORDS IT BREAKS UP!!!!
He also says "The supply of gravel is a significant cost with regard to the gravel resheeting of an unsealed road ... often necessary to make compromises to achieve a serviceable road." You note he doesn't mention the impact on our health or our quality of life. His only regard is "significant cost".
However in the same email he goes on to say "recently the eastern section of Coramba Road was resheeted with material from Jungs Quarry which has more fines to help bind the gravel." - this is the same material used by Coffs Council and as we know creates much less dust AND NOBODDY LIVES ON THE EASTERN SECTION!!!
And finally just to reitterate that it's not Council's problem " the potential change of Coramba Road from a regional road to a local road would not benefit Council, in that the current RTA funding sources would not be available ... Furthermore, through traffic is not currently a major proportion of existing traffic volumes.
My reply was basically "While I understand that the loss of State funding will not benefit council, you must also understand that State funding has provided no benefit at all to us as residents. We like most residents use 4WD and quiet frankly I can live with pot holes and bogs but the dust is another issue as it is having a direct impact on our health. Of course eventually if the road disintegrates sufficiently tourist traffic will stop using the road. So please feel free to return it to the clay substrate, that was better than what we have now. Furthermore your comment on through traffic maybe accurate at some times, however the volume of tourist traffic has increased significantly. Weekends and school holidays see far more traffic. Last Saturday we had a single convoy of 10 4WDs each towing a caravan heading east and even after the rain last week, the dust was unbelievable hanging in the entire valley for 20 minutes or more. I believe someone or some people are promoting the drive as a scenic tourist drive, especially for 4WD's even the NRMA Open Road web site describes "From Dorrigo, take the Eastern Dorrigo Way to Coffs Harbour via Coramba. There is around 15 km of unsealed road in this section, which is narrow, winding and very rough with potholes you could sink a ship in – but what the route lacks in surface quality it makes up for in scenic views as it climbs the mountains and travels through rainforest and picturesque hidden farmland valleys.
We are victims of the beauty and serenity that attracted us to the area in the first place." |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 18 September 2009 )
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