Cornwallis Road, Cornwallis - Riverbank and Drain Restoration
- Estimated Finish February 2026
- Project Status Completed
- Project Funding $11,000,000 jointly funded by the Federal and NSW Governments
Work to restore the flood damaged drainage network at Cornwallis and rebuild the missing section of Cornwallis Road is now complete. Led by Hawkesbury City Council, in partnership with NSW Public Works, the restoration of the drainage network and levee delivers robust and resilient protection for landowners along this low-lying and flood-prone section of the Hawkesbury River. The $11 million project was jointly funded by the Federal and NSW Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). The initial damage at Cornwallis was caused by the March 2021 flood in the Hawkesbury River, with the 1970s drainage system failing because of the severe flooding event. As repair works to the drain were about to start, subsequent flooding in 2022 caused further erosion and the breaching of the riverbank, resulting in a small bay forming. An 180-metre section of Cornwallis Road was also lost, necessitating a full redesign and significant expansion of repair plans.
Scope of Works
The NSW Reconstruction Authority, Transport for NSW, NSW Public Works, and the EPA have worked alongside Hawkesbury City Council and local landholders to design a resilient and effective drain repair and road restoration. Even as works were underway, the site has been inundated by minor floodwaters on five occasions, including in the May 2025 flooding event. To rebuild the damaged network it took:
- 232 precast 2.4m x 2.4m concrete stormwater box culverts
- 2,880 tonnes of concrete
- 25 kilometres of steel reinforcing bar
- 15,000 tonnes of sandstone foundation boulders and
- 28,000m3 of backfill
2 tonne steel floodgates. Two hundred and fifty metres of Cornwallis Road was also reconstructed to return the road to its original state.
Map
Hawkesbury Buzz Fortnightly E-newsletter
Page ID: 315781
