Goulburn Mulwaree Council investigates three roads for B-doubles

The decision at the most recent meeting followed representations from the heavy vehicle industry.

Currawang Road, Taralga Road and Cullerin Roads will have bridge and drainage structures assessed to check whether they can handle the B-doubles, weighing up to 62.5 tonnes.

The report will be circulated to local stock and other carriers for their input.

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Operations director Matt O'Rourke said while there were already designated B-double routes throughout Goulburn Mulwaree, including Braidwood Road, the council received many requests from truck drivers and landowners for more.

"But the further we get into the road network, the less suitable the roads are," he said.

"They are narrow and not necessarily well constructed so once you load them up, they can deteriorate quickly."

This has occurred on Oallen and Lumley Roads where special permits have been issued to to allow truck companies helping with the bushfire clean-up to travel them.

Mr O'Rourke said this had accelerated the surfaces' deterioration and the council was seeking compensation from the state government. However a set formula calculates damage at about $80,000 while the council estimates it at $500,000.

"We are going back to the fund to pursue the money but whether it's forthcoming, I'm not sure," Mr O'Rourke said.

"The damage is widespread and over a significant distance."

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Heavy rain in February and August has also damaged the rural road network. The council has received state natural disaster funding for this.

These factors have undermined the need to fully assess possible B-double routes, taking surface strength, width, bridge and drainage structure capacity into account.

Heavy vehicle industry has regularly asked over the past four years for three routes to be considered. These are:

However, Taralga Road from Ross Street, Bradfordville to the council boundary, Cullerin Road and Currawang Road (700 metres from Braidwood Road) were also on their list.

A report to the most recent meeting stated that the former three routes met some of the criteria but not all.

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Staff recommended that only Taralga, Cullerin and Currawang Roads be assessed for B-doubles and , performance based standard vehicles and "high-vehicle mass vehicles."

Currently, permits can be sought from the council through the National Heavy Vehicle Register for the use of larger trucks on local roads. These are assessed on a case by case basis.

But designation of permanent routes would remove this requirement.

The council is open to the possibility and will investigate the capability of the three roads to handle 19m long B-doubles up to 4.3m high.

"The use of B-doubles over smaller semi-trailers and truck and dogs allows an increase in productivity and reduces the damage done to council's road network per tonne of material moved," the report stated.

"There are also perceived benefits in safety as a small number of truck movements are required to move the same quantity of material."

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The move follows the state government's issuing of a special permit for two B-triple trucks per weekday to transport products to the Goulburn's Coles Distribution Centre during the COVID period.

In August, the state government acknowledged that the Hume Highway was being considered as a permanent B-triple route.

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