Two of the biggest mobile cranes in Australia were required to salvage a crane that had slipped off Eurobodalla Road near Cadgee and rolled into the Tuross River.
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The accident happened on Thursday, December 9, 2021 with the crane remaining in the river until a massive operation to retrieve it started on Thursday and continuing through to midnight on Friday.
Cadgee locals attribute the lack of road maintenance for causing the accident saying the road was only budgeted to be graded three times a year.
"With the fires and the 12 floods we have had in the last two years surely there are more options for rural communities to have better safer roads,"Cadgee local Keira Colburn said. "This accident should have been a wakeup call."
A spokesperson for Eurobodalla Shire Council said the relevant segment of Eurobodalla Road where the accident occurred was re-sheeted and graded by council contractors the month prior to the accident in November 2021.
"The condition of the road was inspected at the time of the accident and found to be in good condition."
Salvaging the crane from the Tuross River was a logistical nightmare for the crane operators with two of the largest mobile cranes in Australia being called in to help drag the submerged crane back onto the road.
Since the time of the accident and the salvage operation the Tuross River has flooded twice.
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