Construction on Gunnedah’s second rail overpass is now under way, with an allocation of $32 million to get the job done.
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Deputy Premier Troy Grant, NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay, Member for Tamworth and Nationals candidate Kevin Anderson and Gunnedah mayor Owen Hasler were on hand to turn the sod on the project yesterday.
Mr Anderson said the overpass was the “largest road infrastructure project Gunnedah has seen”.
Construction on the project is expected to take up to two-and-a-half years.
“This is great news in relation to the bridge,” Mr Anderson said.
“This has been a very long time coming. There has been an enormous amount of community consultation to get this job right.
“We wanted to make sure before we even turned the sod that we had the design right.”
He said the announcement was not an election promise, but that the project was fully funded.
Mr Anderson said the project had been delayed by a number of issues, including consultation with a landholder who initially did not want to sell her house.
The project included a number of resumptions, with two homes standing in the path of the design that had been adjusted to include access to Barber Street.
NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay said the project was “long overdue”.
“It would be 22 years overdue or more,” Mr Gay said.
“We are putting in a local road allowing local vehicles and heavy vehicles that come through access at all times.
“It helps the farmers, helps the miners and helps the whole community.”
He said the first works to get under way would be the roundabout on the corner of Conadilly and Warrabungle streets.
Mr Gay said the work was part of the Bridges for the Bush program and had involved extensive consultation with Gunnedah Shire Council.
The access to Barber Street was added following submissions from local businesses.
“I think we have [now] got a better solution,” Mr Gay said.
Gunnedah Shire Council’s Wayne Kerr said the work was a “necessary part of our traffic management through the CBD”.
He said the work would fit in with council’s current work to widen Bloomfield Street.
Mr Anderson said Gunnedah’s Chamber of Commerce had also played a large part in consultation for the project.
“It was a real collaborative effort,” Mr Anderson said. “The Chamber of Commerce were fairly emphatic.”
Mr Grant, Mr Gay and Mr Anderson also announced a campaign promise of $50 million to upgrade the Oxley Highway while inspecting work on a current $10 million project on the highway.
The $50 million would include greater flood resistance and more overtaking lanes between Gunnedah and Tamworth.
It would also see an upgrade to causeways between Somerton and Carroll and Gunnedah and Carroll to provide “flood immunity”.
Mr Grant said detailed safety investigations and site inspections as part of the Oxley Highway Route Safety Review had identified the work as a priority.
Work already under way as part of the $10 million in improvements includes installation of cat’s-eye reflectors and the upgrade of guard rails to improve safety for motorcyclists.
While in Gunnedah, Mr Grant and Mr Gay also helped open Mr Anderson’s Gunnedah campaign office and attended a dinner for Riding for Country Kids at the Gunnedah Services and Bowling Club.
Mr Grant has made a number of visits to Gunnedah during the election campaign, which has also recently played host to Police Minister Stuart Ayres. Premier Mike Baird has also visited the Liverpool Plains.
