Roads in the region

Council is responsible for over 3,000km of sealed and gravel roads across the region.

To protect and prolong the life or our roads, Council works with a number of bodies including Transport for NSW and the Mid North Weight of Loads Group, as well as managing our own regular maintenance programs.

The Local Traffic Committee and Transport Working Group provide technical advice and guidance to Council on a range of initiatives to raise public awareness and improve the safety of the region's roads.

We regularly update LiveTraffic with major road works. We recommend checking there as your first point of call.

See below for weekly updates on grading of unsealed roads, road repairs on sealed roads, and major flooding recovery works.

Road Maintenance Programs

Maintenance Grading for Unsealed Roads

There are over 1,900 km of unsealed roads in the Council region, and Council has several crews that inspect and maintain these roads. We also replace gravel on roads (re-sheet) that are in poor condition.

See below for Council's weekly unsealed maintenance grading schedule:

Week commencing 29/05/2023

*All work is dependent on weather conditions and unforeseen circumstances.

Sealed Road Maintenance

Tamworth Regional Council is the road authority for more than 1,200 kilometres of sealed regional and local roads. To keep these roads in good condition, Council has several sealed road maintenance crews that regularly inspect and repair roads where needed. We also re-seal many roads each year.
It is very important that no vehicles are parked on streets on the day that re-sealing works are to take place. Council will notify you a few days in advance of any re-sealing works which may be planned for your street with a flyer delivered to your letterbox, to allow you to make any necessary arrangements.

See below for Council's weekly sealed road maintenance works schedule:

Week commencing 29/05/2023

Major Road Repairs

Council’s road and drainage structures have experienced significant damage as a result of the unprecedented and recurring rain and flood events, particularly in November 2022.

Approximately $10 million will be spent repairing roads in the Tamworth region over the next 12 months, with Tamworth Regional Council contracting four extra graders and four road crews in addition to Council’s maintenance crews to tackle the extensive damage to the region’s 3000 kilometre road network.

Most of the road damage sustained is scattered and patchy, with potholes appearing sporadically across the road network. As a result, road repairs will be prioritised based on safety risks, extent of damage, and the amount of traffic regularly using a road. Council will also ensure road crews are working efficiently by tackling multiple jobs at a location where possible.

See below for Council’s major road repairs projects:

Major Roadworks will also be taking place over the next 12 months where flood damage has been extensive.

Report a pot hole or road maintenance concern

Reporting the issue on the MyTRC App is the fastest and most reliable way to ensure your road concern is resolved as quickly as possible.

Alternatively, you can report a pothole or other road concern directly on 1300 733 625 or contact Tamworth Regional Council via this online form.

If you can’t report it straight away, take a photo and note the location.

If you have sustained damage to your vehicle on one of our roads, find further information about whether you are eligible to claim for compensation here.

FAQs 

Why do potholes happen, can’t we prevent them?

Potholes happen when the road seal cracks and water gets under the road surface. Due to significant rain that we’ve had recently, this is becoming a problem right across the region. We are working hard to stay ahead of that.

We know that pothole repairs are a temporary solution, but it’s one of those jobs that needs to be done while we plan the reconstruction of our worst roads.

Because the seal has cracked, when a pothole happens in one area, it is possible another may occur nearby.

Why do other areas have better roads than us?

Road maintenance is an issue for all councils. Residents in other regions experience the same frustrations.

Like many towns across NSW, Tamworth has faced significant rain (post drought) and other extreme weather events over the last 12 to 18 months. Effective maintenance is being made more difficult due to this as our resources are being pulled to wherever the most urgent work is required. We are however dedicating increased resources to avoid significant weather events impacting our regular maintenance schedule.

What is resealing?

Most of our sealed roads are “spray sealed”. This is when a thin layer of sticky bitumen and stone is placed over the road pavement to protect it from water – the same way a coat of paint protects steel.

Over many years the bitumen starts to get brittle and can crack. If this happens, and water gets into the pavement, we start to see potholes suddenly appearing. If the road pavement is still strong and smooth, we can avoid potholes by “re-sealing” with fresh bitumen and stone. This should keep the water out and give us another 10-15 years of smooth driving.

Although most people prefer “smooth” asphalt roads, a spray seal cost about one quarter the price, so we will keep using spray seals on most of our roads so that we can stretch our rates dollars further.

What is Tamworth Regional Council doing to fix the problem?

We are currently allocating increased resources.

With the additional funding the community can expect to see a ramp up in road maintenance in the coming months. We will be engaging, effective immediately, four additional contract maintenance crews on our unsealed roads. They will be grading roads, clearing drains, and helping our Council crews to get our rural roads working well. We will also be investing in our sealed roads, with more resealing and reconstruction work than ever before.

Load Limited Bridges

There are a number of bridges across the region that are subject to weight restrictions. Council has provided a list and map of these load limited bridges and details of the restrictions that apply to them.

Click here to download a map of load-limited bridges (PDF 2.8MB)

Clearance Heights

As at 2

Heavy Vehicle Routes

Click here to access the RMS Heavy Vehicle Routes map

Road Safety Education

Click here for information on road safety

Local Traffic Committee

Transport for NSW is the legislated body responsible for the control of traffic on all NSW roads but it delegates certain aspects of the control of our regional and local roads to Tamworth Regional Council.

Council also plays an important role in the management of road networks by providing traffic input and advice where necessary.

There are guidelines and policies that enable Council to exercise the traffic functions delegated to us by Transport for NSW.

As part of the management of traffic on a local scale, a Local Traffic Committee (LTC) exists primarily as a technical review committee, which advises Council on some matters.

While the committee has no decision-making powers, any traffic related matters Council wishes to consider must first be referred to the LTC for their recommendation.

The committee is made up of representatives from Council, New South Wales Police, Transport for NSw and the local State Member of Parliament.

Traffic Management for Special Events

Click here for more information on traffic management for special events