Pastoral districts call for regular road grading after water damage

Long stretches of about seven Public Access Routes which provide tracks across pastoral leases remain closed and have caused stations, particularly in the North West district, to wait for roads to reopen and return to safe conditions.

The Department for Environment and Water is responsible for managing PARs, and together with the Pastoral Board, are working with lessees and PAR users to minimise risks and manage access to the tracks.

"Seven PARs, including tracks near Lake Eyre and in the Flinders Ranges, are closed for public safety concerns. Recent rain has affected the condition of the tracks, while extreme weather in 2022 also caused significant damage to the PAR network," a Department of Environment and Water spokesperson said.

The state government has recently secured federal government funding to undertake repair works to the PAR network throughout the next 12 months.

"Works are scheduled to start soon, weather permitting, with an expected reopening of PARs to access Lake Eyre by the end of July 2023," the spokesperson said.

But in the North West pastoral area, Tarcoola Road, which is managed by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, is closed often and acts a significant livestock freight and access route for multiple stations.

Wilgena Station via Tarcoola manager Edwina Bowie uses this road and hoped the department would act on outback road grading more often, to reduce road closure frequency.

"If the road was graded about three times a year, then smaller rains would not have as big effect and cause the road to be closed so often," she said.

"Vehicles bottom-out a lot where the road is not in good condition, so it needs repairs where the washouts have formed."

Ms Bowie said at times, it was difficult to manage closed roads.

"It is tight - trying to work to the conditions. If the department could continue to make sure the road is being graded often, it would reduce impact of stock freight," she said.

"The roads need to be monitored closely. We generally do not have winter rains this heavy and it is looking as though we will have more than our yearly average. We have received about 135 millimetres to 165mm since January."

At the weekend, the Birdsville Track was opened to 4WD vehicles only, with towing permitted between Maree and SA/QLD border, with warnings in place. Mungeranie to Maree has cautions in place for ponded water sections and heavy wheel rutted areas. Extreme caution is to be used at a bog hole, approximately 16 kilometres south of Mungeranie with single lane vehicle travel only through this area.

The Oodnadatta inside track will remained close to the SA/NT border but the Oodnadatta Track, has opened with warnings in place, while Strzelecki Track has also opened to 4WD.

A Department for Infrastructure and Transport spokesperson said teams were working closely to monitor road conditions to reopen routes swiftly.

"We are engaging with pastoralists and property owners to better understand the condition of roads across the state," they said.

"We encourage pastoralists to reach out to the department if they have access concerns or issues to report."

All roads in the Painted Desert area are being monitored to determine when it will be dried sufficiently for graders to undertake necessary repairs, according to the spokesperson.

A further assessment is expected to be carried out this week, to understand the extent of the damage sustained and suitability for heavy vehicles

Evelyn Downs station between Coober Pedy and Marla has delayed mustering by more than a month, as the owners patiently wait for contractors to grade its main access road.

Painted Desert Road has been closed for two weeks and is yet to open, according to station owner John Knight.

"It is very muddy and it has been difficult, even though we warmly accept rain," he said.

"It was pretty treacherous, we checked it on motorbikes and have not progressed much further than the main road across the property because the risk of getting bogged."

Mr Knight said the road closure had been very limiting and thrown muster plans out of the window until August 14.

"We were supposed to begin on June 24 but there is no way we can get triple road trains onto these roads in the present condition," he said.

"It certainly has put a halt on our plans and the cattle have spread further across the property because of watering holes."

He said moving cattle from distant yards to a central part of the property required many trucks and motorbikes, which were still unable to be used on most of the property.

"Before we can even think of mustering, these roads will need formal grading again and we are at the whim of authorities with that one," Mr Knight said.

In the meantime, Mr Knight will ferociously grade private roads.

Since May last year, a joint initiative between DIT and SA Road Services, has been under development to allow pastoralists to assist with public road grading.

But, according to Mr Knight, it still had not come to fruition.

"It is so we can grade public roads after rain, so it is done quickly and we do not have to wait months for contract grading," he said.

"At this stage, we do not have permission to touch public roads, so we have to be fairly patient with contractors and the departments."

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