THE state government has committed $100,000 to a planning study exploring options for a truck bypass of Wagga.
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Member for Wagga Daryl Maguire made the announcement following the release of Committee4Wagga’s (C4W) master transport plan on Thursday that outlined three potential options for a bypass route.
The three options outlined in the plan encompass a route looping through Bomen to the north of the city before joining the Olympic Highway north of Estella, one travelling through North Wagga using a duplicated Eunony Bridge and a final alternative skirting the city’s southern boundaries.
It recommends constructing the Eunony route initially by 2025 before building the southern bypass to accommodate extra projected traffic flows around 2030.
At yesterday’s launch, Mr Maguire and fellow election candidates Dan Hayes (Labor) and Kevin Poynter (Greens) all backed C4W’s plan.
“I think Wagga needs to look at its future planning, not just for the next four years, but for the decades to come,” Mr Hayes said.
“You’ve got to put the planning in place to do it right – you can’t go into it guns blazing.”
While welcoming the government’s funding commitment for a full planning study, Mr Hayes questioned whether it would be followed through with action while Wagga remained a safe Liberals seat.
Mr Maguire said the bypass issue needed to be tackled now with Wagga’s growth rate forecast to remain steady at around 1.6 per cent for the next three decades.
Nothing should be ruled in our out in terms of existing infrastructure for the bypass study, Mr Maguire said.
“We need to look at the bigger picture – if it means … building something new, I think it needs to be considered,” he said.
The southern route remained C4W’s preferred long-term option, according to chief executive Chris Fitzpatrick, given it could potentially operate as a 100km/h thoroughfare for trucks and encourage growth on Wagga’s southern edges.
"The southern orbital is probably the ultimate route because from a planning outcome, it provides a boundary to the city,” he said.
While a bypass for Wagga was the main item listed on C4W's plan, calls were also reiterated for a full duplication of notorious traffic bottleneck Glenfield Road.
