The road’s causeway over Timbumburi Creek has been closed since early January, when weeks of heavy rain led to the causeway permanently holding about 30cm of water.

Locals said they had been forced to take a long and dangerous detour into Tamworth, and dredging the creek would solve the issue.

However, the NSW Department of Primary Industry (DPI) Fisheries prevents councils from dredging, citing “significant environmental constraints”.

The causeway has been closed numerous times, and a report to the council has recommended replacing it with a $600,000 bridge to avoid the ongoing problem.

At a meeting this week, councillors instead decided to reopen the road after its inspection and clearance by an engineer, and subject to “appropriate speed restrictions” to ensure the safety of residents. 

NSW Land and Water Minister Niall Blair also offered to streamline the necessary approvals the council needs to dredge the creek.

More than 25 Impala Estate residents attended the meeting and left with smiles on their faces.

Warral Rural Fire Service (RFS) member Tony Curran said the closure of the causeway had “badly affected” the group’s call-out time.

He said the majority of Warral RFS volunteers didn’t live on the same side of the creek as the station.

“All our fire truck drivers live on the opposite side and we legally can’t move the truck out of the shed without them,” Mr Curran said. 

“It takes us about an extra 12 minutes to get to a job. In a motor vehicle accident, 12 minutes is an eternity.”

Councillor Phil Betts said the council had been “hamstrung” by DPI Fisheries, which would not allow it to dredge the area due to the anticipated environmental damage.

He was happy the council was “pushing back” against DPI Fisheries’ decision.

“The residents are making a reasonable request and reinstating the causeway would resolve many of their issues,” Cr Betts said.

Councillor Russell Webb said reopening the causeway was less dangerous than the risks associated with leaving it closed.

“This is what happens when bureaucracy stands in the way of a good outcome,” Cr Webb said.

Mayor Col Murray told the meeting the Tamworth region had “well over 1000 of these causeways”.

“If we were to spend $600,000 to build a bridge every time we hit state government red tape over a waterway, we would soon not have the money to be doing anything else,” Cr Murray said.