The Mercury published the poll on Monday as part of the Raise the Road campaign to persuade the government to find a solution to the flooding problem at Testers Hollow.

Of the 544 respondents as of noon on Thursday, 94.3 per cent (513 people) said they would sign a petition to raise the road, while 5.7 per cent (31 people) indicated they would not.

The poll referred to an online petition created by Hunter resident Sonia Warby who wants the road, which has been subject to flooding for at least 90 years, to be fixed.

The petition has already attracted more than 4000 signatures.

Under NSW parliamentary guidelines, 500 signatures or more will trigger a response from the ­relevant minister, in this case Roads Minister Duncan Gay, within 35 ­calendar days.

The Mercury is encouraging anyone who wants the road at Testers Hollow fixed to sign the petition, which will be distributed to various locations around Maitland and Cessnock in the coming days.

It will take 10,000 signatures to have the petition tabled in Parliament for discussion in the house.

Cessnock Road was closed for five days earlier this month after more than 220mm of rain pelted the Hunter in 48 hours.

While the Testers Hollow road was one of about 40 closed in the Maitland and Cessnock local government areas, it remained off limits to traffic a longer time than any other route.

It was also the second time the key route between Maitland and Cessnock had been closed for an extended period in nine months.

Newspaper records show the road was flooded four times between 1927 and 1931, and another four times between 1950 and 1955. 

Cessnock Road at Testers Hollow has flooded four times since 2007.

Would you like to support this petition? Download it here. Print, gather signatures of other supporters, and mail or deliver it to Raise the Road, The Maitland Mercury, 6/555 High Street, Maitland, NSW, 2320.

Previous stories in the campaign to Raise the Road