Restoration of Cornwallis Road and drain commences this month

5 February 2025

Work is commencing at Cornwallis to restore the failed drainage network and rebuild the missing section of Cornwallis Road.

The initial damage at Cornwallis was caused by the March 2021 flood in the Hawkesbury River, with the 1970’s drainage system failing as a result as of that event. Subsequent flooding in 2022 caused further erosion and the breaching of the riverbank, resulting in a small bay forming. A 180-metre section of Cornwallis Road was also lost.

While private landowners have undertaken earthworks to restore sections of their land washed away, Council has been working with the NSW Reconstruction Authority, NSW Public Works and the EPA to design a resilient and effective drain repair and road restoration.

Site establishment works are now underway, and the drainage works will commence later this month. 250 precast concrete stormwater box culverts have already been delivered and are currently being stored onsite, ready for installation.

Once the stormwater culverts and backfill have been completed, the permanent Bakers Lagoon flood mitigation outlet into the Hawkesbury River will be restored, enabling work to start on the reconstruction of approximately 250m of Cornwallis Road to its original state.

It is anticipated works will take 30 weeks, with targeted completion in September 2025, weather permitting.

This project is fully funded by the Australian and NSW Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements and Council has engaged NSW Public Works as our project delivery partner.