Early morning drivers were shocked to find a semi trailer in the middle of the new bypass roundabout on Thursday, after it ploughed through the garden bed. The incident occurred on the southbound side of the roundabout just before 2am, away from the new halo structure in the centre which was not damaged or struck. Designed and used daily by B-Doubles, road trains and oversize vehicles, the 67-year-old driver from South Australia misjudged the roundabout, driving over the medium strip and entirely mounting the roundabout where the truck came to rest. It left behind a 50m-long skid mark in the southbound lane, destroying a portion of the new garden and ripping the irrigation system out of the ground. Police attended the scene and it did take some effort to move the truck off the roundabout. The driver is now facing six charges. These includes negligent driving, fail to produce work diary, driver not record required information after starting work, and three counts of making false or misleading entry in work record. Traffic was slow around the Newell Highway and Condobolin Road intersection hours later with traffic control and temporary traffic lights operating as road crews cleaned up the area.
