A FORMER councillor has praised member for Orange Andrew Gee for pursuing upgrades to the road between Orange and Mudgee, but has warned him not to be put off by naysayers.
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Martin Gleeson served on Orange City Council during the last push for a bridge at the Dixons Long Point crossing over the Macquarie River in 2001. The road was registered and federal money was promised, but no state funding came forth to match it.
"It's politics," he said of the reason it had not been achieved in its 80-year campaign.
"Bathurst fought desperately not to get it through because it would open the western area straight to Newcastle."
Mr Gleeson applauded Mr Gee for his renewed push in State Parliament last week for $15-20 million to build the bridge and pave the approaches.
"I hope he doesn't get tied up in the anti-argument where they say it'll cost millions and millions and millions. That was our biggest stumbling block right from the word go, because the bureaucrats said, 'you can't do this, you can't do that'," he said.
"The bridge only needs to be good enough for a one in 10-year flood and then the rest follows."
Mr Gleeson said while the project would shorten the Orange to Mudgee trip by 80 kilometres, the benefits would be greater for the residents on either side of the river, who had to travel up to 120 kilometres further to reach the regional centres.
"It makes it much cheaper to get produce to market," he said.
CENTROC already has a transport strategy with projects like the Bells Line of Road, inland rail and key local roads identified in line with state and federal government funding criteria.
The Orange to Mudgee road is not currently one of them, but chair and Cowra mayor Bill West said the strategy was a living document and the travel savings would make the project worth considering.
“Opening up the region makes perfect sense,” he said.
The state government has promised 30 per cent of the proceeds from the lease of electricity assets would be quarantined for regional areas.
"It's vital both the state and federal governments invest properly in the regions rather than more than a fair share in metropolitan areas and continuing to exacerbate overcrowding in the cities and declining populations in regional areas," Cr West said.
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au
