Sydney motorists are being urged to exercise patience amid road repair delays due to the city’s widespread flooding.
The chaos comes after a whopping 300 per cent increase in cars making insurance claims linked to rain-damaged roads this year with an audit ordered of every pothole in Sydney.
NRMA’s Peter Khoury said temporary filling in had begun, with a focus on motorways.
“Right across the road network we have serious damage,” he told 2GB radio on Thursday.
“Not just potholes but where there has been heavy flooding we’re going to be dealing with major work that needs to be done in the coming weeks once the rain stops”.
Flat tyres, burst tyres, damaged wheels and damaged suspension and steering are among the main complaints.
NRMA reports some members claiming thousands of dollars of damage to their vehicle due to potholes.
“If we can fix the tyre we can but damage to the vehicle, you go to your insurance company and it becomes a cost no different to if you have an accident,” Mr Khoury said.
Residents should notify their local council immediately if dangerous potholes in a bid to get the issue resolved.
“What we are dealing with right now is pretty unique, the amount of rain that we are dealing with, the fact that it hasn’t stopped,” Mr Khoury said.
“Things have to dry out before they can send out crews to do a temporary fix let alone a permanent fix.
“To be fair to councils the amount of work that has to be done here, we have to be patient.”
Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward said it’s still to early to understand how much the damage will cost taxpayers.
“I don‘t have a grasp on that. What I can say is in terms of the maintenance project, I’m getting that audit undertaken so we can see what the task is,” she said.
