Bureaucrats prove major problem

 Sean Cunningham, Narrandera Argus

Narrandera Shire Council will make yet another bid to have the Irrigation Way Canal Bridge en route to Leeton widened or replaced following a number of unsuccessful past attempts.

Council has decided to seek support from various road users of the bridge before authorising the mayor to form a delegation to meet the Minister early next year.

Views of the Irrigation Way Canal Bridge en route to Leeton. Narrandera Shire Council has called for support from road users of the bridge before it forms a delegation to the relevant authorities to have it widened. Photos: Narrandera Argus

General Manager George Cowan said following the recent Newell Highway Task Force meeting, Council received an invitation from Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison seeking a meeting with her in March to raise the bridge concerns yet again.

Mr Cowan said Council’s requests to meet with the current and former Transport Ministers had always been favourably received. “Unfortunately, we can’t get past the bureaucrats and Transport for NSW (TfNSW),” he said.

“They’re the gatekeepers and they will come to a fresh meeting and not even know where the bridge is and that’s the sort of response we’ve been getting from them unfortunately.

“We’ll continue to knock on the door and raise the profile of the bridge.

“So far, we haven’t been able to capture the genuine attention of TfNSW staff. It’s just not a priority for them.”

Mr Cowan said up to 10 submissions had been made to Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and the various Ministers for Transport over the past several years.

“This issue has been raised at least every three months for the past two years in various forums,” Mr Cowan said.

“TfNSW have not established any priority for the widening, re-alignment, or replacement of the bridge.”

Councillor Bob Manning called for action to be taken on widening or replacing the Irrigation Way Canal Bridge at the Council’s December meeting on Tuesday.

He submitted a Notice of Motion requesting council to establish a small representative committee and to arrange for a delegation to meet the Minister of Regional Roads and Transport Jenny Aitchison to seek a definitive timeline.

However, Cr Manning’s Notice of Motion failed to gain support.

Council is concerned it is only a matter of time before another fatal or serious accident occurs and has decided to call on the bridge’s road users to share their experiences, to present to the Minister as supplementary evidence.

Cr Manning said he believed the bridge was on the “never never list” .

“The only way we will get there is to keep pushing,” he said.

“What’s been happening is we’re not getting anyone to commit to a timeline.

“At this stage with this bridge, it is not on anyone’s timeslot to do something.

“A big bus crash up near Kempsey was on a similar S-bend curve. We should not need to arrive at such a situation.”

Cr Cameron Lander agreed there were many issues surrounding the bridge, especially safety concerns.

“The unfortunate aspect is quite often you won’t see anything done until there’s a tragedy,” he said.

“That’s the nature of the business we seem to be in these days. You’ve got to wait until something really terrible happens before you get people to move.”

Safety concerns about the bridge have increased since the matter was first raised several years ago due to the increased size and volume of heavy vehicles now using this State Road. 

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 12 December 2024.