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Three-and-a-half long years on, Forbes Shire Council's flood damage road repair program is nearing completion.
The $25 million program was launched following the prolonged and repeated flooding through Spring 2022.
Since that November, council crews and contractors have worked to repair 2,838 flood-damaged sites across 123 local and regional roads.
Those works have included stabilisation and reconstruction of failed pavement sections, restoring structural integrity and improving ride quality across the affected network, a report to the council's June meeting explained.
Council has now confirmed that the final stages of the program are being completed.
Forbes shire maintains an extensive road network with a total 1067km of rural unsealed roads, 112km of urban sealed roads, and 565km of rural sealed roads.
In addition to repairing council-managed roads, Forbes Shire Council has completed more than $8 million worth of flood recovery work on behalf of Transport for NSW - including the Newell Highway, Lachlan Valley Way, Escort Way and Henry Parkes Way.
Now, work is about to begin on the next phase of flood resilience projects.
Council has secured $12 million through the Transport for NSW Regional Transport Resilience Fund to improve flood access between Forbes and Bedgerabong via South Condobolin Road.
The route was cut for around three months in Spring 2022 floods.
Work will focus on improvements at 17 Mile and 21 Mile, which are scheduled to start in August and take about six months.
Design work has been completed and approved, the council has confirmed, with the project now progressing into the construction delivery phase. Procurement of culverts is underway and preparations are being made for asphalt supply.
But motorists are still waiting on the details of improvements to make the Newell Highway more flood resilient between Forbes and West Wyalong.
This month marks a year since The Advocate reported that the budget for the work had been reduced to $141 million and Transport for NSW was working on a revised option.
Transport continues to work on a revised option for the Newell Highway Flood Mitigation – West Wyalong to Forbes project, a spokesperson has confirmed, "that focuses on building culverts at existing causeways in the Marsden section of the Newell Highway to reduce the number of days the road is inundated during and after a flood event."
Transport expects the Review of Environmental Factors (REF) to go on display in 2026 for community and stakeholder feedback, and will keep the community informed as the project progresses.