Three regional councils have joined forces to see if they can start fixing what’s wrong with Bucketts Way south of Gloucester to the Pacific Highway. Starting with Stage 1 at a cost of around $6.68 million, Gloucester, Great Lakes and Port Stephens have formed a united front to submit an expression of interest for funding to the NSW Government’s Fixing Country Road Programs. Their first hope is to build three overtaking lanes on a major transport road which currently has… none.
Bucketts Way is a key transport route for local and export timber, poultry, dairy, beef, coal related activities, other agricultural products, and is an important freight corridor to the New England area.
The plan has also received the National Roads and Motorists Association’s(NRMA) backing, with local director Wendy Machin saying the biggest gripe for motorists is the road’s poor condition.
“Bucketts Way is a very busy freight route, which makes it an important economic asset but also means that it is exposed to a lot of wear and tear from trucks. It’s also a tourist route, so visitors unfamiliar with the road are being exposed to unacceptable safety risks. The notoriously dangerous road was voted the third worst road in the wider hunter region for 2015.”
Article courtesy of the Gloucester Advocate
Read the full article – www.gloucesteradvocate.com.au
It’s about time. 16 Australians have lost their lives on this dreadful road since I arrived in Australia 21 years ago. Many of them young Aussies. It’s disgraceful.