Disaster Recovery

ZIPPER MACHINE

A state-of-the-art Zipper machine is being used by Clarence Valley Council to undertake costeffective and productive road repairs on long stretches of road improving productivity.

The Civil and Works team hired an Asphalt Zipper to assist with the response to the backlog of deteriorating roads in the wake of the February/March floods. “The Zipper cuts, crushes and mixes the asphalt into reusable material in one pass,” Director Civil and Works Jamie Fleeting said.

“It achieves comparable results, in a few days, to a full rehabilitation, which would normally take weeks.”

“In addition to time savings, there is also a reduction in material waste and fuel resulting in significant cost savings.” The Asphalt Zipper is a versatile, portable piece of machinery that has been used to recycle materials into the road base on site. “We have used it on Armidale Road to reinstate a whole series of pavement failures back into safe condition,” Mr Fleeting said. “The Zipper converts the damaged road surface into uniformly blended, stable, reusable material resulting in a more durable, longer lasting and smoother road for a small fraction of the cost of rehabilitation.” At any given time, road maintenance is one of Council’s biggest responsibilities. But the floods and persistent wet weather in 2022 resulted in a significant increase in the number of road defects. Restoring the road network to preflood conditions is a big job that will take at least 12 months to achieve. Clarence Valley Council publishes a Schedule of Works in its weekly Noticeboard to help inform the community of the various road maintenance activities happening in the Clarence.

DISASTER RECOVERY

Clarence Valley Council has spent $7.8 million in flood response works to date. Assessment of pre- and post- condition of assets is ongoing. However, once complete total flood damage bill is estimated to reach $30 million.

“The project value is only going to climb once we get a better handle on the quantum of projects that fit within the Disaster Recovery criteria,” Director Works and Civil Jamie Fleeting said. “Places like Yamba Road will need Essential Public Asset Reconstruction (EPAR) works, but at this stage we have just been dealing with the Emergency and Immediate response.” The joint Commonwealth and State government funded Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) came into place in 2018 to help communities recover from eligible disasters. Councils can apply for funding for the estimated cost of repair of damaged essential public assets such as roads, bridges, footpaths, pedestrian bridges, culverts, levees and stormwater infrastructure under Category B of the DRFA. Public assets such as ovals, playgrounds, showgrounds, skate parks and swimming pools are not considered essential under these arrangements.