Flood event hits Strzelecki Track

Friday, 9 February 2024

Parts of the Strzelecki Track have reopened to traffic while other sections remain shut off after a significant flood event earlier this week, prompting urgent repairs and dewatering of badly impacted areas.

Heavy rainfall, on Monday, resulted in all sections of the track being closed, with reported damage mostly on the unsealed sections of the vital freight route.  

Repairs to scour damage south of the Strzelecki Creek Crossing have now been completed, allowing for the section from Merty Merty to Lyndhurst to re-open.

Della Road – stretching 50 kilometres from Moomba heading east towards Dillons Highway – remains inaccessible to all traffic, as crews progressively pump water off the road and clear a single lane carriageway to enable access from Moomba to Innamincka over the coming days.  

Areas worst hit are between Moomba and Innamincka, as well as Adventure Way which runs east of Innamincka.

The State Government is working with the Commonwealth to fully seal the track, which is an important supply line for major oil and gas facilities in the Cooper Basin and a key transport corridor for outback communities, pastoralists and tourism.

The upgrades will improve safety and access year-round and minimise damage caused by inclement weather events.

Department for Infrastructure and Transport workers are currently on site to assist and will assess the extent of the damage and how this might affect the upgrades being carried out.

So far, just over 40 per cent of the track has been sealed, totalling 190 out of 472 kilometres.

This latest flood event is in addition to 43 separate weather events between September 2020 and January 2024, resulting in closures to all traffic for 94 days.

It follows the first Outback Roads Roundtable – convened by the Minister for Regional Roads in Port Augusta last week – which brought together key stakeholders to explore ways to improve the road network and prioritise resources.

Aerial photos of the flood event can be found here.