THE construction of the Southern Feeder Road not only has the ability to improve connectivity for Orange’s southern residents and businesses, it also has the potential to create new jobs.
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On Tuesday night, councillors awarded the $2.2 million contract for stage one of the project to Hamcon Civil, which is based in Orange.
Work is due to start early in the new year and will be completed by the end of June, weather permitting.
Orange mayor John Davis said awarding the contract was a milestone for the city’s road network.
“It will make connections between the major highways into Orange, industrial areas like Leewood and key community infrastructure such as the health service and the new Shiralee housing area,” he said.
Hamcon Civil operations manager Nathan Wood said the company had won council contracts in the past, including stage one of Burrendong Way.
“This is our ideal job,” he said.
“It’s very exciting for a company of our size.”
Mr Wood said it was critical for local companies to win contracts. If Hamcon wins another goal contract, it could grow its workforce from 15 to 20.
“Some local contractors may not be big enough, but there has to be stepping stones. Without opportunities, there’s no way to make the business better and learn new things,” he said.
“With local employees on our books, there’s a long-term benefit for the city because their kids go to school here and they buy their cars here.”
Stage one will involve lengthening Anson Street and linking it via 500 metres of new road to the intersection of Forest and Huntley roads.
The intersection itself will be moved about 50 metres south, clipping off a short section of Jack Brabham Park.
The Sharp Road intersection onto Forest Road will be made left-turn only in a bid to reduce traffic in the street, however traffic patterns will be reviewed and the design could be adapted.
Mr Wood said the challenge would be directing traffic in the Bloomfield precinct around the roadworks.
“There’s a significant amount of work that has to happen and it’s a very busy area,” he said.
“We want to keep any [traffic] delays to a minimum, but there’s not going to be any other roads like it. There’s about a kilometre of footpaths and all kerb and guttering, it’s not just going to be a rural road.”
Infrastructure Committee chair and councillor Reg Kidd said, while the road would not be designed to carry the same heavy-duty traffic volumes as the Northern Distributor Road, it would still play a valuable role.
“The success of the northern bypass, which has taken thousands of cars and trucks out of the main street of Orange, shows how important feeder and distributor roads like this are in a growing city like Orange,” he said.
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au