Despite an agreement from five local councils (Goulburn-Mulwaree, Shoalhaven, Upper Lachlan, Yass and Palerang) to conduct a study into the favoured route for Main Road 92 west of Nerriga, an application for funding to upgrade the Oallen Ford Bridge will proceed to full application stage for the $200 million Round Two of the Regional Development Australia Fund (RDAF).
The project for “the Freight Corridor Upgrade (Nerriga – Goulburn Road)” to be managed by Goulburn Mulwaree Council is also supported by Shoalhaven Council.
RDA Southern Inland said the announcement of the projects going to full application provides an opportunity to further demonstrate how the project will meet the needs of the region.
The projects chosen “all took into the account the priorities of our Regional Plan and have the capacity to address the needs of the region,” Ken Prendergast, RDASI Chair, said.
“The projects have a strong level of community support and will have a positive long-term impact on our region and neighbouring regions and are ready to proceed.”
Palerang had previously considered a request from Shoalhaven for Palerang to be a joint partner for the application submitted under Round 1 of RDA Fund, however decided not to support it as;
“The project if successful will result in the establishment of a heavy vehicle haulage route within Palerang and Goulburn-Mulwaree LGAs on the local road network which is not up to adequate standards in terms of alignment, pavement strength and road safety to cater for the extra trucks that will expect to use it. The project would need to be expanded to cover these issues before Council could support it.
Council does not have funds to contribute to the bridge which is located outside of Palerang LGA nor will it be able to meet significantly higher costs of maintenance and repair of Oallen Road should the project be successful.
There are many other projects within Palerang that have a higher priority for Council.” (Palerang minutes April 2011)
Goulburn Mulwaree Engineering Services Director Terry Cooper told the Goulburn Post “Under the terms, bidding councils must match federal funding. In this case, Goulburn Mulwaree is putting up $1.35m and Shoalhaven City - $150,000.” Mr Cooper said although Palerang Council had an interest in the project, it was promising “moral” rather than financial support.”
Mr Cooper said the partial success was good news as the bridge’s replacement had been on Council’s agenda for three years. “At that time Council was forced to reduce the load limit from 15 to five tonnes for safety reasons.”
“Irrespective of whether it becomes part of Main Road 92, the bridge needs to be replaced,” Mr Cooper said.
Since the new sections through to Nowra have opened traffic has ballooned to over 1000 cars per day.
The closing date for full applications is February 15, 2012 and the funded projects will be announced mid-year.
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