Motorists could be forced to take a detour through Holbrook Road after a $2.7 million shortfall for upgrade works to Dunns Road were revealed in a council report.
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Riverina MP Michael McCormack confirmed $2.5 million of federal funding in 2016 for excavation and works and road alignments to be carried out as part of the upgrades, which were to be matched by Wagga council.
The project may not even go ahead after some funding details were not taken into consideration in the original budget, leaving council with a stockpile of government funds.
Riverina MP Michael McCormack was in discussion with Wagga council to see if the funding could be better suited elsewhere.
“What worries me about Dunns Road is if it is not looked at, then it is an accident waiting to happen,” he said.
“I’ve had a discussion with council to see if funds could be used elsewhere but the allocation was specifically for that project.
“We were able to come to the table with $2.5 million, dollar for dollar.
”I’m happy to work with council to do what they think will work. The ball is in council’s court.”
However the proposed changes won’t make a difference for some residents along Dunns Road.
Business owner Gavin King thinks more needs to be done to combat the amount of reckless drivers on the road.
“Majority of the people usually come around the Wagga side for us because of where we’re situated,” he said.
“But it’s the way that people drive on that road.
“They don’t understand that it is such a dangerous strip.’
If council does go ahead with the Dunns Road project, funding would have to be pulled from other council projects according to Wagga mayor, Greg Conkey.
Cr Conkey acknowledged the possibility that funding could go elsewhere to other projects, subject to federal government approval.
“What we could do with that $2.5 million if we don’t spend it on Dunns Road is a number of alternatives,” he said.
“But we would have to receive approval from the federal government to relocate those funds.
“One other road that springs to mind is Farrer Road. It has a lot of traffic with the potential growth of Estella and Borooma near the uni.”
It comes alongside a new NRMA report that revealed Wagga is in dire need of a $300 million cash injection to bring its roads up to a satisfactory condition.
