QUESTIONS have been asked why fresh bitumen on Forest Road has been dug up just months after it was laid to make way for a sewer main.
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Councillor Jeff Whitton said work began yesterday connecting the Bloomfield Medical Centre to a main on the other side of the road.
However, he was infuriated to find crews from Zauner Constructions had cut a narrow trench across the entire width of the freshly-laid road, along with the concrete median separating the two lanes of traffic in Forest Road, plus the new footpath leading to Orange Health Service.
The road was partially reconstructed to accommodate future demand from the private hospital.
"It's a real shame, for all the work councillors did - we lobbied for five years to get that road brought to the correct standard," he said, recalling the road's mottled surface before it was redone.
"It was a beautiful road, it was all hot-mixed, and they're digging it up, a $4 million road.
"It'll never be the same again - once they patch it, it will sink and when you're coming to the entrance of the hospital, you're going to be driving through a pothole."
Cr Whitton questioned why the work could not have been completed before the road was laid.
It was a beautiful road, it was all hot-mixed, they're digging it up, a $4 million road.
- Councillor Jeff Whitton
"They could have done that anytime prior to that being done," he said.
"A lot of people going through to the hospital, they reckon it's a joke."
The Central Western Daily understands Zauner held discussions with the council and boring under the road was attempted with little success due to the amount of underground rock.
The road surface will be reinstated to as-new condition, including material specifications and testing.
Electronic message boards have been put in place to inform drivers of interruptions to traffic during the project.
One lane in either direction will be open to traffic at all times and emergency services have been notified.
Zauner Constructions could not respond by the time of publication.
Construction on Forest Road started more than a year ago, which included kerb and guttering and a larger car park for Sir Jack Brabham Park.
Orange City Council is planning upgrades for two further stages next financial year - the hospital to Cadia Road and Cadia Road to the Cabonne boundary.
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