BATHURST Regional Council will have its project inception meeting with Talis Civil on Friday, which will be the next step in getting a roundabout at a contentious West Bathurst intersection.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The tender was awarded to Talis two weeks ago and, after council meets with the company, a timeline for works at the intersection of Mitre, Suttor and Lambert streets can be developed and released to the public.
At Wednesday night's council meeting, long-time roundabout supporter Kent McNab took the opportunity to thank councillors for appointing a company to carry out the works.
"I would like to congratulate the director of Engineering Services, Darren Sturgiss, and his team for a magnificent job in preparing the tender, the evaluation process and the choice of a suitable tenderer," Mr McNab said.
"I would also like to thank councillors Bourke, Christian, North, Fry, Jennings and Rudge. They will be known as the sensible six.
"These six have vision and common sense when it comes to the safety of children and provision of suitable road infrastructure for the expanding suburbs of West Bathurst, Windradyne and Llanarth."
Mr McNab also aired his frustrations over councillors Warren Aubin, Monica Morse and mayor Graeme Hanger, who have not supported the roundabout proposal.
When the tender was voted on, they asked that their negative votes be recorded in the minutes.
"The views of these councillors will not be forgotten by the voters at the next council election," Mr McNab said.
Mr McNab and his wife, Dianne, started their campaign for vital safety improvements at the end of 2016.
Their campaign saw them start a petition, which garnered thousands of signatures, and the couple also began collecting information on accidents that had occurred at the intersection.
On Wednesday, Mr McNab said the total was now up to 21 accidents after recently learning of another one.
A mother was driving through the intersection with her two children when she had to brake suddenly to give way to a bus.
Another motorist crashed into her and caused damage to the rear of her vehicle.
Mr McNab said the 21 accidents he had learned of had involved 43 adults, 10 children, 40 cars and two motorbikes.
He said safety at the intersection, particularly for children, was paramount and that was why the roundabout was sorely needed.
Construction is expected to take months, but will mostly be done under traffic control so vehicles can continue to use the intersection for the majority of the project.
