The Alice Springs community is being invited to provide feedback on five design options for greater flood immunity in the Mount Johns and Desert Springs areas.
Department of Transport Chief Executive Andrew Kirkman said before a final decision is reached on the preferred design route, the Northern Territory Government would like to hear from the community and consider the financial and social benefits of the options.
“The Northern Territory Government is aware that flood immunity in the Mount Johns and Desert Springs area has been a concern for some time and allocated funds in the 2015/2016 budget to conduct a thorough investigation into feasible options to improve flood immunity,” Mr Kirkman said.
Currently when the Todd River floods, residents and businesses in these areas are unable to access the Alice Springs CBD or Stuart Highway as the Casino (Taffy Pick) causeway and Tuncks Road floodway are closed.
The only available access to the area is through a Power and Water service road that is opened to the public during critical events. This private service road is designed for access to Power and Water sites only and is not built to Australian Road safety standards.
“Our investigations have included extensive consultation with key stakeholders to obtain a greater understanding of known issues for the area, future growth opportunities and road network planning,” Mr Kirkman said.
The design options are:
A connector road from Stephens Road to Sadadeen Road – direct route
A connector road from Stephens Road to Sadadeen Road - eastern route
A connector road from Tuncks Road to Sadadeen Road - via the Power and Water access road
A high level bridge over the Todd River at Stephens Road
A high level bridge over the Todd River at Tuncks Road
Community consultation on the Mount Johns Flood immunity project will be open for four weeks from 11 July to 5 August and will include meetings with key stakeholders and community displays so that all feedback can be taken into consideration before the detailed design stage and delivery of the project.
For more details regarding the project and to provide feedback go to transport.nt.gov.au.
Media contact: Simone Phasey 8924 7028