IT is estimated that Bathurst will have to wait at least three years for the first of several major infrastructure projects to address road congestion.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Congestion is an increasing problem in Bathurst as a result of the city expanding to the north east.
Councillor Warren Aubin says Bathurst Regional Council is working hard to address the traffic issues into the future, assuring that consultants are finalising the concept design for the first part of a three-stage plan.
It will include a better Hereford Street bridge and four lanes up to the Gilmour Street intersection, which will also get an upgrade.
"This will be stage one, to do something with Hereford Street. There will be a new design for the intersection of Hereford and Gilmour streets, and that will obviously get traffic flowing," he said.
"The idea will be to make it a lot easier to get from Kelso into the CBD."
The redesign of the intersection could feature a two-lane roundabout or traffic lights. Those ideas are still being examined to see which one is best, Cr Aubin said.
He said some people think council is not making progress on congestion issues, but that is not the case.
He stressed it would take time to get the designs finalised, to get approvals, and to source the funds for the project, which is estimated to cost around $50 million.
"I've been told that the first sod won't be turned for at least three years ... but at least it is a priority for council and, once all the consultants finish their work, then it's all a matter of costing, funding, approval," Cr Aubin said.
He estimated that the final design will be presented to council around November.
After addressing Hereford Street, Cr Aubin said the next stage would be to construct an additional river crossing.
He said there are several routes under investigation at the moment.
"There's a few mud maps being drawn. One of them comes straight off Laffing Waters Lane there, and that's the sort of thing I like to see happening, because that's where the growth is out there," Cr Aubin said.
"Where it hooks up into town, that's the next thing. Does it go up Rankin Street, up Stewart Street, up Peel Street, who knows? That all depends on land acquisitions or where we can rightly put the road through."
He said it would take at least another 10 years for the additional river crossing to come to fruition, then after that council could consider a bypass as a third stage.
Cr Aubin is not the only one eager to make progress.
In recent weeks, mayor Ian North, along with deputy mayor Monica Morse and councillor Bobby Bourke have all flagged the need to address congestion as a matter of priority.
Like Cr Aubin, Cr Morse said that it will take time to solve, but council is actively working on a plan now.
"It's a very difficult issue and I know that council staff are working very hard to engage consultants to see what can be done," she said.
"It's not going to be done overnight, it's going to be a long-term process to work that out, but [the work being done] is something I'm really pleased with."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News