Taralga district residents took matters in to their own hands when rain scoured out large holes in the main road to Goulburn.
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Signs painted on the road sent a strong message to Upper Lachlan Shire Council (ULSC) to take action. 'Fix it,' 'Danger' and several unmentionable phrases were painted on the 45km stretch from Goulburn to Taralga.
The issue reached a head on November 10 when a resident said a school bus had no option but to hit a large hump in the road, causing it to veer to one side. He said the vehicle was "lucky to stay on its wheels."
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Taralga district man, Andrew Blake-Dyke said the thoroughfare was "bloody dangerous."
"We could have had kids killed the other day. They are very lucky," he said.
"...It is totally unsatisfactory and we could have had 100 people killed by now...If you're coming up to these damaged areas and there's an oncoming vehicle, you have no option but to hit them. It's a matter of luck but when does your luck run out?"
Mr Blake-Dyke said the pavement was in a "dire state and extremely dangerous" as a result of the hump that had been developing in size for several weeks. It is located about 25km north of Goulburn, some 200 metres from a large pothole outside Gordonvale.
A ULSC spokesman said the council would be "working through repairing the reported potholes on the Taralga to Goulburn Road." General manager, Colleen Worthy also told The Post the council was prioritising the thoroughfare but it was "no different" to any other when it came to damage.
Crews were repairing the hump on Tuesday, November 22 and have undertaken some other repairs on the road.
But Mr Blake-Dyke said it shouldn't have waited this long and warning signs and reduced speed limits should have been erected earlier.
"It's a major regional road and deserves to be prioritised," he said.
"A huge number of vehicles travel it daily and the school bus uses it twice a day. It's a major trunk route through to Bathurst and the Blue Mountains...and is key for stock transport."
Mr Blake-Dyke said people were "furious and disgusted" over its state and the school bus incident had galvanised them.
He has written to Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman and Member for Hume, Angus Taylor, about the state of Upper Lachlan roads generally.
Mr Blake-Dyke has also highlighted the Laggan to Taralga Road in three sections as "unsafe. At the Tyrl Tyrl/Carrabungla cross roads, a "pile of road material" in the left lane posed a hazard, he said. Despite signage, motorists did not have sufficient time to take appropriate action.
In addition, the Taralga to Golspie Road, used by two school buses, had "badly deteriorated and totally broken up in areas, requiring vehicles to cross into oncoming traffic."
Mr Blake-Dyke said despite reporting the damage to the council, "people were lucky to have issues dealt with inside two weeks."
"While the council's capacity is limited with current weather events, surely public safety should be a priority," he said.
"'Multiple weather events' is no longer an acceptable excuse for repairs not to be completed in a timely manner."
His request to speak in public forum and table correspondence at the most recent council meeting was declined on the basis it was an 'operational matter' that didn't require councillor determination.
Mr Blake-Dyke said such matters "crossed the line" to become public safety issues, council management should be "held accountable."
Mrs Worthy said prolonged wet weather had damaged large parts of the 2500 linear kilometres of the council's road network.
"We are prioritising the work..." she said.
"People have to understand that we can't fix all of them but we are working steadfastly through the list. People just have to drive to conditions."
The GM said the council undertook regular maintenance on the Goulburn to Taralga Road.
But as with all surfaces, they were "temporary fixes that broke up again in next to no time," due to rain.
"We want a product that is permanent because we can't leave roads the way they are," Mrs Worthy said.
The council prioritised work based on bus routes, road hierarchy, damage and usage.
At the recent Country Mayors conference, Upper Lachlan was among numerous councils that backed Local Government NSW calls for more state government funding and declaration of a 'road emergency.'
But Mr Blake-Dyke is not satisfied with the response to his complaints.
"At the end of the day, who will be liable?" he said.
"Who will say 'we're sorry' when we bury a person? Sorry isn't good enough. Prevention is better than cure."
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