The full cost of building and repairing our much-maligned Northern Distributor Road has been revealed by the Orange City Council.
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It has cost $48.1 million for the 12.5km bypass to now be in a good condition.
A report to the council’s meeting this week showed that it cost $3.8 million per kilometre.
Just under one-third of the cost [$13.8 million] was taken up by repairs since 2013 when heavy traffic and serious rain wrecked the road.
Council has also said it was cheaper to build than the Guanna Hill reliagnment project by the Roads and Maritime Services on the Mitchell Highway between Orange and Molong.
The report said the 7.2km section had been valued at $40 million – or about $5.6 million per kilometre.
And it said the Guanna Hill project was designed to handle about 3000 vehicles per day while the NDR was expected to carry 10,500 vehicles a day between Hill Street and Leeds Parade.
The section around Icely Road is expected to carry about 4000 vehicles a day.
Mayor Cr John Davis said the community had been “frustrated by the performance of the road” but it was good value for money.
“The cost benefit analysis shows that even though the road has cost an extra $13.8 million in upgrades since 2013, it still ticks every box in terms of benefit to the community compared to cost to ratepayers,” he said.
“Most of the NDR from the Escort Way to the Mitchell Highway is of a standard which is greatly improved and I challenge anyone who is critical of the quality of the road to drive it from start to finish.”
However, the roadworks are still being completed.
That includes building a roundabout at William Maker Drive and further work at Clergate Road.
Council’s infrastructure chair Cr Glenn Taylor said there had been extra cost because the NDR went through residential areas.
“More than half the NDR is through residential areas so we have also had additional costs such as buying land, building sound barriers and landscaping,” he said.
Cr Taylor said the work had included four roundabouts, 11 intersections and three bridges.
He said the NDR helped keep trucks out of the main street.
“The economic benefit to the community has already reached $22 million,” he said.
Cr Taylor forecast the benefit would rise to $82 million in the next 20 years.