The Henry Parkes Way between Parkes and Condobolin has deteriorated so much that some truckers wouldn't drive on it at harvest time, Parkes Shire Council has been told.
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Deputy Mayor Neil Westcott raised the condition of the road as a matter of urgency at the first meeting of the new council for 2022.
"In some situations ... they simply refuse to go along the Bogan Gate to Parkes road," Cr Westcott said.
"The longer road trains or triple tub type trucks had a lot of trouble keeping their rear trailers on the road.
"That actually cost me a lot of money," he added, explaining he could have got a premium price for grain at Bogan Gate.
"I didn't really have time to go into finding other truck drivers who would go out to Bogan Gate."
Logan Hignett, council's executive manager operations, said the council had inspected the road with a delegate from Transport NSW.
"Following the November storm there is an avenue to apply for storm damage funding," he said, and areas needing heavy patching had been identified.
"Further to that the council has a yearly inspection where we drive the road network - to both Orange and Condobolin - with Transport."
That is scheduled for February and the perfect opportunity to make representation for more significant upgrade work, he said.
"Perhaps inspections need to be done in a truck," Cr Westcott said, the suggestion applauded by Cr Glenn Wilson.
"Some of the feedback is that there are areas of that road that will simply throw the steer tyres of a truck violently off the road so you might bounce over it in your Hilux but in a truck with a 50 or 60 tonne load it's dangerous."
Mayor Ken Keith added the condition of the road was a concern beyond the Parkes shire.
Edges that had been upgraded just a few years ago had subsided with the amount of rain this year, and heavy trucks throughout a long harvest would have an impact as well, he said.
Cr Ken McGrath had already raised the road - specifically the installation of guard rail between Parkes and Manildra - in the meeting.
"The road's a disgrace, yet they're spending all this money on guard railing," he said.
Mayor Ken Keith said Transport for NSW had determined the need for guard rails on parts of the road and was funding their installation.
Cr Westcott asked how council could lobby harder for serious upgrades on the road.
"It doesn't have to be fixed in one year," he said, but called for a commitment to repair it over time and recognise its significance to the region.
"If you've got truck drivers refusing to drive on it, it says a lot about the state of the road.
"It's a serious problem: a serious problem to the rural community, to those that travel that road every day."
Cr Keith said he would circulate a draft report on Central West regional roads so Parkes' concerns about the Henry Parkes Way could be incorporated into council's comment on it.
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