Kevin Morris says there were no ‘road closed’ signs on Thursday morning last week when he drove through the flooded causeway and his Pantec truck stalled in a rising Timbumburi Creek.

The local painter told The Leader he travelled along the road to quote a job for a customer just before dawn on Thursday when the car became stuck.

SES crews and police arrived at the scene, before a tow truck pulled the van to safety.

Mr Morris has since criticised the lack of signage and monitoring of the causeway during last week’s heavy rain and said the incident could have been prevented by placing signs on the road sooner.

He was also concerned it could happen again to someone else, in a much smaller car, who might not be so lucky.

“It was dark, there were no ‘road closed’ signs from the old Catholic school all the way out to the Duri crossing,” he said.

“It was pitch black and visibility was [poor] and I didn’t see the water that was there.

“Shortly after this incident everyone from the council was out there blocking roads and erecting signage on both sides.” 

Mr Morris said the depth of the water warranted an earlier response from officials and, despite a white sign before the causeway warning the area was prone to flooding, high visibility signage should be installed.

“It was major water - it was a metre deep,” he said.

“A smaller vehicle probably would have ended up off to the side and into the water but a four tonne truck wasn’t a problem. 

“I wasn’t trying to drive across it, it was an accident and you couldn’t see anything.

“SES are claiming they’re the ones who are monitoring all of these high waters. 

“They had ample time to know there was flooding coming from elsewhere to cause this. 

“They should have been out there. They should have advised the council as well and blocked it.”

Regional SES Controller Andrew Galvin said the responsibility of road closures was in the hands of the “road owners” – in this case Tamworth Council.

However, Mr Galvin urged motorists to exercise caution during and following periods of heavy rain, and with more rain forecast he said it was likely more flooding could occur. 

A council spokeswoman said council crews regularly inspected local roads during heavy rainfall.

“There was no water over the Warral Road causeway on Wednesday,” she said. 

“Unfortunately it became flooded as a result of overnight rain before it was inspected on Thursday morning in daylight. 

“When it was seen to be flooded, warning signs were put in place.

“Motorists are reminded that in the event of significant rainfall they are to proceed with caution and take extra care.”