Two "notorious" blackspots in Goulburn Mulwaree will receive a total $1.2 million in federal funding for safety upgrades.
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Hume MP Angus Taylor announced this week that Taralga Road, near Pontilla Lane, had scored $804,403 for improvements, including installation of safety features.
In addition, a single-lane roundabout will be installed at the Bourke/Addison Street intersection in Goulburn, courtesy of a $403,245 grant. A 67-year-old Goulburn woman, riding a motorcycle, was killed in a crash involving a vehicle at the intersection in April, 2012.
A council spokesman said police data showed five crashes had occurred at the intersection in the past five years. Six crashes were recorded on Taralga Road over the same period. The Post reported in 2017 that a district man suffered minor injuries when his ute ran off the road near Pontilla Lane.
READ MORE: Man injured in Taralga Road crash
"Community input has been critical to identifying these black spots," Mr Taylor said.
"None of these projects would be delivered without community feedback and I encourage all residents and motorists in the region to nominate projects for future funding rounds."
Council general manager Warwick Bennett said these two areas were the only ones that qualified for blackspot funding. Eligibility was conditional on previous fatalities.
He argued that while the council could apply for other road grant programs, some of them were "reactive rather than proactive."
"Because there hasn't been a fatality we don't get the cost benefit ratio and that's frustrating," he said.
The council has also scored $1.5 million in federal blackspot funds for Mountain Ash Road's upgrade. Work will begin next month. The road will stay open but delays are expected between Marian Vale and Jerrara Roads.
Separate from the blackspot program, the council is pushing for roundabouts at the intersection of Hume and Mary Streets and Hume and Finlay Road, both of which had registered numerous crashes. Hume Street is a State road.
Mr Bennett said the Deccan/Clinton Street intersection was also "quite dangerous." Cr Margaret O'Neill has raised it many times at council meetings.
Meantime, Mr Bennett and Mayor Bob Kirk will meet with NSW Roads and Maritime Service representatives next week about the Auburn Street/Sloane Street swap.
The council wants Sloane Street reclassified as a State road, given its heavy vehicle usage. It is also lobbying for Auburn Street to come under council control, enabling greater flexibility with beautification works.
But the RMS has raised some objections, arguing Sloane Street's upgrade will be too costly. Cr Kirk has said the road has acted as an unofficial heavy vehicle route for many years in its current form.
The council is hoping for progress on this point next week and will also discuss opportunities for Goulburn Mulwaree to secure maintenance contracts on state roads in this region. Upper Lachlan currently carries out many of these.
"We want a slice of those," Cr Kirk said.
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Louise Thrower
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
If you have a story to tell, drop me a line at louise.thrower@austcommunitymedia.com.au or call 0418 229 678.
