We don’t want to ever see the situation arise of 'I told you so' after a major accident.
- Cr Kenny McGrath.
Concerns have again been raised about the safety of the 59.2 kilometres stretch of road between Bogan Gate and Tullamore.
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Cr Kenny McGrath believes Parkes Shire Council should be pressuring the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) to widen the road known as The Bogan Way (MR350).
At the council meeting held in Tullamore, Cr McGrath described the road as dangerous.
“The road is unsuitable and too narrow, council needs to get onto the RMS to widen it,” he said.
“All that is needed to make the road safer is half a metre on either side. Surely the RMS has a duty of care on this matter.
“The amount of B-doubles and road trains travelling the route is a tragedy waiting to happen.
“We don’t want to ever see the situation arise of `I told you so’ after a major accident along that stretch,” Cr McGrath said.
“School buses run that route all the time, twice a day, five days a week.”
Cr McGrath said he can only see the situation worsening with the continual closure of grain silos throughout the region.
“The RMS should be aware of all this. Farmers have to move the grain and it should be safe for all road users.”
The road regularly comes in for criticism, particularly from Bogan Gate, Trundle and Tullamore residents.
Stories of having to pull over or stopping off the side of the road to allow heavy vehicles to pass are regularly related to councillors and staff.
Cr Barbara Newton (who resides at Tullamore) has in the past regularly raised community concerns on the issue - particularly regarding B-doubles and road trains.
Last year, council approved a trial period for AB-Triples to use the stretch of road en-route to Narromine.
The trial is still in place.
General Manager Kent Boyd said The Bogan Way currently meets RMS guidelines.
“Once the shoulders start to eat away is when the dangers arise,” Mr Boyd said.
“Council regularly applies for grant funding for the road and it’s one we’d all like to fix tomorrow.
“As it stands now all money we have goes into improving this stretch of road.
“It remains a real conundrum and a double-edged sword for council.
“For if we remove B-double access, it impacts on farmers particularly during the hectic harvest period,” Mr Boyd said.
Mr Boyd said that while he agreed with the comments made by Cr McGrath, the fact remains the current road measurements comply with regulations.
“Council has and will continue to apply for funding for upgrades of the stretch of road for the safety of all motorists,” Mr Boyd said.
Mr Ben Howard (Acting Director Engineering Services) said council continually applies for grant funding when opportunities arise.
“We were successful with our REPAIR grant application of $400,000 matched 50 per cent by council bringing the total to $800,000,” he said.
“Of this, $600,000 has been allocated to the upgrading of The Bogan Way between Trundle and Tullamore.
“Council recently applied for several grants including $1.33 million under the State Government’s $37.5 million Fixing Country Roads Program and $1.7 million as part of the Heavy Vehicle Safety Productivity Program (HVSPP) for a number of projects including The Bogan Way.”