A new website has been launched in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales to provide drivers with up to date information on road closures.
Using the RoadInfo website, travellers can view a map of the Northern Rivers region in a Google Maps format that has markers positioned at the areas of road closures.
Launched in February, the website is primarily designed to help commuters find alternate routes of travel when roads are flooded.
The Northern Rivers area is prone to floods, as it has many low lying flood plains, and the frequency of flood events will continue to increase with climate change.
President of the Northern Rivers Regional Organisation of Councils (NOROC), Councillor Jenny Dowell, said this is when the website will really comes into action.
“The site is especially important in times of emergency,” she said.
“Although the new system is capable of displaying road works and scheduled road closures on an everyday basis, it will come into its own during a flood or in another emergency event.”
The website also allows for better communication between councils, allowing commuters to travel between council boundaries with the same, up to date road information.
“Giving people across the region easy access to road closure information will be a real benefit to the whole community,” Councillor Dowell said.
Lismore City Council’s Simon Adcock said the response has been positive.
“The website is a great development providing the whole region with an easy to use system,” he said.
The website is a joint project between Lismore, Ballina, Kyogle, Richmond Valley, Tweed, Byron and Clarence Valley Councils.
The website can be found at www.myroadinfo.com.au/
