The Kempsey-Armidale Road is an important corridor, which links Armidale and the coast. The road also supports the local community and agriculture and tourism industries in both the Armidale and Kempsey regions.
The road was severely damaged by bushfires at the end of 2019 and subsequent flooding in 2020 and 2022:
The condition of the road has deteriorated due to these natural disasters and several landslips have occurred. Emergency recovery works have been undertaken at several locations where the severe damage to the road occurred from these natural disasters. Council is now working to prepare for the main recovery works commencing in 2024. This will involve undertaking certain early works which must be carried out before the main recovery works can begin.
Council is working to rehabilitate and restore 43kms of Kempsey-Armidale Road and a 5.1km section of Lower Creek Road to pre-disaster condition.
The scope of works for the overall project has been classified into two categories and four separate projects:
The project is jointly funded by the NSW Government and the Australian Government under the Natural Disaster Funding Arrangements 2018. This will fund activities that restore the road to pre- disaster condition only.
Kempsey Road is closed to the general public until further notice due to landslides and unstable road pavements from recent rainfall events.
The road is open to local residents for essential travel and emergency and essential services only. Access restrictions still apply. Residents can find more information on the community information pages.
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