THE Bridle Track Action Group says a pot of money on offer from the NSW Government provides a chance to end the uncertainty over the track's replacement.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Steve Alexander from the Bridle Track Action Group has highlighted the fact that $150 million in grants are available under the Fixing Country Roads program - but councils have to apply before October 10.
Bathurst Regional Council, however, says the Fixing Country Roads funding is to improve roads in order to increase freight connectivity, which would make an application for the Bridle Track difficult to justify.
READ ALSO:
Council also says more than $8 million has been spent on sealing Hill End Road from Sofala to improve connectivity.
The Bridle Track, which runs from just outside Eglinton to Hill End, was closed in 2010 after a landslide at Monaghan's Bluff and residents on the route have since kept up the pressure on council and state Member for Bathurst Paul Toole to have it reopened.
Council received $2 million from the NSW Government last year to investigate options to get the road reopened, and council is currently involved in the compulsory acquisition of a property for an alternative route for the track, but the action group remains frustrated by the slow progress.
Mr Alexander said a successful application from council for the Fixing Country Roads program "might finally end council's endless excuse that 'we have no access to the money' once and for all".
The action group has also invited NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to visit the Bridle Track, have morning tea on the banks of the Macquarie River and "gain a first-hand understanding of the frustration of those of us ... who see the clear commercial tourism benefits that have been lost to Bathurst, Hill End and the wider Central West".
Mr Alexander said the group has not been advised if the Premier will visit, "but we remain optimistic she might come".
A spokesperson said council will continue to seek funding for an alternative route for the Bridle Track.