HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS AGREE RICHMOND NEEDS A BYPASS

Traffic around North Richmond Bridge is nearly always a nightmare.  And as we saw last month, with the bridge going under in the flood, it is a crucial access point for our community.

I’ve been calling for a new bridge for years. Late last year I wrote to residents in the Richmond and North Richmond districts seeking their feedback on the route options put forward by the NSW government for the Richmond Bridge Duplication project.

The people on either side of the Bridge made it clear to me that they want the planned duplication to be a bypass with more than three quarters of the 700 responses calling for a route that goes north or south of the existing, inadequate bridge and goes around - not through - Richmond and North Richmond.

More than half want the North Richmond southern bypass route, and another 20 percent want the northern bypass. The other options were much less preferred.

This project is being funded to the tune of $200 million by the Federal government, supported by Labor, with a small contribution by the NSW Government.

My fear is that in spite of the process of consultation, the decision will ultimately based on budget. And you have to wonder, what can you build for a bit over $200 million in a flood prone landscape?

There were calls in the feedback I received for it to be as flood resilient as the Jim Anderson Bridge, that State Labor constructed decades ago, the last new bridge to be completed.

Many people also raised issues around respecting the heritage of the region including heritage buildings, concern about impacts on the polo fields and