This is part two of a series which explores the village of Comboyne, its business community and council's solutions to its road woes. Read part one here. Comboyne residents are continuing to push for adequate and long term road upgrades to ensure a safe commute. Comboyne Road and Lorne Road have both been earmarked for long term repairs by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council. It comes after Comboyne Road was impacted by wet weather events in 2021, which forced its closure. As part of the March 2021 flood event, several tonnes of soil slipped on Comboyne mountain, blocking vehicle access on Comboyne Road between Hartys Creek and Stennetts Road. READ MORE: Comboyne open for visitors after road repairs on main roads Comboyne Road was reopened in January, under traffic control as some sections are single lane. Long-term restoration works are tentatively scheduled to commence towards the end of 2022 and are expected to take 12 months to complete. The Federal Government has made a $5 million contribution towards council's Lorne Road sealing project. The entire project to seal the unsealed section of Lorne Road is estimated to cost in excess of $35 million. "[It] will be delivered in a staged approach to suit available funding," council's director of infrastructure Robert Fish said. READ MORE: Port Macquarie-Hastings Council works towards securing funding for Lorne Road Comboyne Road was forced to close as a result of heavy rainfall in 2021, and motorists were directed to use Lorne Road as an alternative route. However, according to residents, Lorne Road also came with its dangers. Comboyne Community Association's president Gordon Burch said buses didn't travel on the road as it was deemed too dangerous to transport students to and from school. Cars also had to share the narrow road with trucks and supply vehicles. Gordon hopes council is continuing to seek funding to make up the $35 million. "It was intended for Comboyne students who were entering high school would have the option to attend Camden Haven High School," he said. "It was intended the school bus route go that way. "That can't occur until the road is significantly upgraded." Gordon said Lorne Road is of great significance to support the Comboyne's industry and population. Ian Lawrence from Comboyne Business Group would like a second bitumen road to be built, to create a loop and link the village to Wingham or to Laurieton. "It would improve all business up here," he said. Ian said travellers are discouraged from exploring because so many of the roads are unsealed. "If it was a tourist circuit, I think that would make a very big difference to people coming up here more often," he said. Meanwhile Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has recently carried out short term repairs on Lorne Road and Playfords Roads. Belinda Mathews and her partner Ben Hurrell have a dairy farm at Comboyne on Playfords Road. They have written to council after a number of their vehicles suffered punctures, due to exposed metal on the road. Council's community infrastructure director Robert Fish said staff occasionally use crushed concrete to treat localised potholes on gravel roads. The recycled material was used to undertake repairs on Lorne Road and Playfords Roads. The material is sourced from Cairncross Waste Management Facility, which has a testing regime to certify if it's suitable quality. "Magnetic extraction of metal products is included in the crushing process and testing undertaken," Mr Fish said. "It's important to note that the end material may not be 100 per cent contaminant-free, and allowances are made for limited items such as metals or plastics to occur within recycled material standards. "We also undertake visual checks, and where foreign debris is noted, we remove it." Belinda's most recent tyre puncture happened on Monday, July 25 and Ben's $3000 tractor tyre was also punctured. The couple are seeking compensation from council. Council staff are in contact with the couple. They have done inspections of the road repairs and removed any foreign materials identified. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
