DRIVERS who have lost patience with Orange’s damaged roadwork could soon be in for some relief.
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Orange City Council will put part of its road works program out to tender in an effort to get repairs in the central business district under control.
Sections of Moulder, Hill, Anson and Sale streets are on a list of roads to be included in a major reconstruction program that will begin mid-November.
The council will advertise the tender next month and is deliberately targeting high-use roads in the CBD for the permanent repairs.
“We’re going to get into our roads rehabilitation program in the next couple of weeks,” works manager Michael Thorpe said.
“We’ve got two parts to the program; there’s a restoration and rehabilitation program that [council] staff will do and there’s another program that will go to tender in the next few weeks.
“It’s targeting a number of roads in the CBD.”
The council has provided $1.6 million in the current management plan for the reconstruction works, in addition to $500,000 that was budgeted for road works in the last management plan.
Any additional costs will be voted on by councillors.
Orange Mayor John Davis said the council had listened to complaints from residents about the state of the city’s roads and the time it was taking to repair them.
He said the council was taking a new approach by repairing bigger sections of road and making sure the repairs lasted, rather than deteriorating weeks later.
“That’s the biggest thing - that when you do it you don’t have to return to it,” he said.
“I’m very confident that in the next 12 months there will be a turnaround in our roads structure.”
Cr Davis said all councillors needed to get behind the new works program.
“It’s been a decision of the whole council to do this program and hold off until this time, so it needs to be a case of everybody being supportive,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect our roads to be perfect.
“The damage to the roads did not happen overnight.”
In addition to the works in the CBD, the council has chosen a further 36 urban roads and eight rural roads for rehabilitation this year, and 24 urban and 5 rural roads for resealing.
The rehabilitation and resealing program will be carried out by council staff from October, after the completion of road works at the intersection of the Northern Distributor Road and Telopea Way.
Road reconstruction works in the CBD that the council will put to tender:
* Moulder Street - Woodward to Anson Streets
* Hill Street - Summer to Kite Streets
* Sale Street - Kite to Summer Streets
* Byng Street - Woodward to Hill Streets
* Prince Street - Anson Street to Lords Place
* Anson Street - sections between Gardiner and Sharps Roads
* Anson Street - Byng to March Streets
* March Street - Woodward to Sale Streets
* Prince Street - Sampson to Hill Streets
* Kite Street - Woodward to Sale Streets
* Sale Street - Byng to March Streets