The pothole-laden road leading to Kalano is undergoing major restoration works nearly seven years after it was first marked a danger.
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Work started late last week with construction workers laying tonnes of dirt to make way for the new road.
Access in and out of the community is currently not interrupted, despite large trucks taking up residence.
The hazardous condition of the road came to a head late last year when Kalano CEO Bill Headley called it a "disgrace" and said it had worsened in the year he had been in the association's top position.
The road to repair has been long and bumpy. Katherine Times' records date back to 2014 when then Kalano boss Rick Fletcher first demanded action.
At the time, it was a matter of which government body would take responsibility for the road, named McKeddie Road.
The Department of Lands, Planning and the Environment (now the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics) confirmed the road was an "unmaintained access" over vacant Crown land, and Katherine Town Council would be the "appropriate authority" to take ownership.
The road was again brought into the limelight at the beginning of 2018 as a multitude of potholes worsened during the wet season.
Funding the council was banking on for the much needed fix was tied up and an emergency fix temporarily smoothing the issue was left to Kalano workers.
Later that year in November, McKeddie Road had seen no attention. Graham Castine, Mr Headley's predecessor, became tired of the complaints about the condition, saying the community had been "fighting for more than six years for [the road] to be fixed."
According to Mr Castine, the road had been left to deteriorate again because of questions over ownership.
In response to inquiries by the Katherine Times, also in November, a spokeswoman from the Katherine Town Council said a number of issues surfaced after council partnered with the NT Government in June 2016, hoping for a resolution.
"At that time, the NT Government agreed to provide funding to repair the condition of the road and Katherine Town Council agreed to manage the road into the future.
"Native Title needed to be explored and after some deliberation, in March 2017, Northern Land Council lawyers advised KTC that from a Native Title perspective, there were no issues," she said.
In November, Katherine Town Council issued a statement saying it "acknowledges there have been some delays in this project," but has been able "to get through land tenure matters".
A date for completion of the road is not yet known. Katherine Town Council has been contacted for further information.
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