Sixty-seven council-managed and five arterial roads in Towong Shire have been inspected, repaired, and re-opened over the past month to clear the road network.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Regional Roads Victoria, Towong Council and the Australian Defence Force have been working with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and VicForests.
Victoria Police has also played a crucial role in managing closures that have extended for more than a month.
But the last closed road reopened to all traffic on Tuesday.
RRV's North Eastern Regional Director Steve Bowmaker said the roads body has been working tirelessly to restore both arterial and local roads after bushfires swept through the region in January.
"The fallout from the fires has been huge with thousands of roadside trees burned, tonnes of debris strewn on and around our roads and thousands of signs and guideposts wiped out," he said.
"Now we're squarely focused on helping North Eastern Victoria return to business-as-usual and a huge part of this has been enabling the community to safely access their homes, schools and workplaces.
"Pooling our resources for this emergency response and recovery has undoubtedly delivered the best outcome for the community, with this partnership going a long way to restoring the road network for the 6,000 residents who live there, as well as the significant number of local industries who need these critical transport links to run their businesses."
Fire impact assessments were carried out to identify and remove potentially dangerous trees and identify damage to roads, bridges and culverts.
Towong Shire Council Mayor, Cr David Wortmann said the strong collaborative partnership between key agencies ensured Upper Murray roads were assessed for safety and reopened as quickly as possible.
"Restoring road access following the bushfires has been critical in reconnecting remote communities with the services and support they need, particularly for the primary producers in the Upper Murray," he said.
"Following the fires our dairy farmers needed to continue milking and without adequate road access for milk trucks, dairy farmers can be left with no other option but to pour their milk down the drain.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"The reopened roads allow us to declare the Upper Murray open for business and welcome visitors back to the area in support of local businesses and primary producers."
RRV has been working with a raft of agencies, businesses, geotechnical specialists and arborists since fires ravaged parts of Gippsland and north east Victoria earlier this year.
Work continues on the post-fire clean-up process which is expected to take several months.
Some fire-affected roads remain closed across the state and the most up-to-date closure information is available at the VicTraffic website: www.traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au