The Hunter River forms a natural barrier to transport and communication in times of major flood. Consequently, on a geographical basis residents to the west of the Hunter River should have access to the township of Denman for assistance during floods, and those residents to the east of the Hunter River should have access to Muswellbrook. People residing along the Sandy Creek, Muscle Creek, Scrumlo and Thomas Mitchell road systems have flood-free access to Muswellbrook via SH9, the New England Highway, the responsibility for which rests with the RTA. The New England Highway is by default a Key Road but is not included in this Report due to level of flood immunity and Council's non-involvement in its development or maintenance. It is noted however that three potentially flood affected sections of the New England Highway lie between Muswellbrook and Aberdeen. At this location, flood conditions will affect the movement of traffic north of Muswellbrook and thereby impact upon residents whose properties front the highway. The objectives adopted for this Report were to:
- Establish a strategy for the movement of vehicles through the Shire in times of flood;
- Establish the location of flood prone sections of the Shire road system;
- Establish the depth, duration and frequency of inundation for floodprone sections of road;
- Establish criteria to determine priorities for improvement works.
