Irwin roads clogged by storm sand

Shires across the Mid West are facing a massive clean-up effort, after ex-tropical cyclone Mangga, the once-in-a-decade storm, hit the region last weekend. Roads in the Shire of Irwin have been severely affected by sand deposits up to 200mm deep after Sunday’s storms and pose a risk to drivers. Irwin Shire operations supervisor Peter Traylen said crews were working to clear the roads but they remained hazardous to motorists. “It sounds crazy but I haven’t been through the whole road network yet, because everywhere I go there seems to be more problems,” he said on Wednesday. “There’s about a kilometre and a half of Allanooka Springs Road that has been affected by sand or topsoil drift, some areas up to 200mm thick across the road and covering farmers’ fences.” The Bureau of Meteorology said this was the biggest and most severe storm the State had experienced in a decade. Irwin Shire president Mike Smith said almost every shire in the Mid West would be affected. “I don’t think we’ll be lonely there, certainly shires across the Mid West will be facing storm issues,” he said. Mr Traylen estimated it would take crews about three to four weeks to remove sand from the roads in the shire’s network. “It poses a serious safety concern,” he said. “Allanooka Springs Road is 110 (km/h) and we’ve dropped that right down in some areas to 40km/h.” He said by the weekend all roads in the Shire of Irwin would have been cleared of major sand deposits. Shire roads affected include Allanooka Springs Road, Burma Road, Bookara East Road, Mt Horner Road West, Tabletop Road, Warradong Springs Road and Yandanooka West Road. Motorists are being warned by police to expect dangerous road conditions ahead of the WA Day long weekend. Mid West and Gascoyne district Superintendent Roger Beer said travellers should be mindful of damage from the storm last weekend.