A key transport route in West Australia's north west has reopened after recent, record-breaking floods completely washed away a 3-kilometre stretch of highway.
abc.net.au/news/flood-impacted-great-northern-highway-broome-derby-reopens/101948952Dozens of cars lined up this morning for the reopening of a major West Australian highway, after record flooding in the Kimberley left people stranded and a regional town only accessible by air.
A 10-kilometre section of the road close to Willare suffered some of the worst damage with 3km completely washed away, leaving Derby inaccessible by road over the recent week. A construction crew of about 40 people has established a temporary single-lane gravel track for vehicle access, but this will only be accessible during daylight hours.
Main Roads Operations Director Peter Sewell has been overseeing the temporary fix and he said the damage could not have been predicted. "When you get a one-in-a-100 year flood it’s going to cause some damage that’s just inevitable," he said.
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