Murrumbateman residents fed up
with the rising road toll and day-
long traffic delays through their
village are pleading with drivers on
the Barton Highway to slow down.
Yass mayor Nic Carmody warned
earlier this week it would take a bus
crash for governments to fast-track
plans for a dual carriageway on the
highway, which claimed four lives
last year.
The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority
will begin a fresh round of
consultations today on dual carriageways,
but villagers say upgrades are
years away and drivers must be
more patient.
Murrumbateman Take-Away proprietor
Beth Ryder said people moving
from Canberra into rural
subdivisions for a quieter lifestyle
were in too much of a hurry to get to
work in the morning.
''If you need 30 minutes to get to
work, leave 30 minutes before you
go, not 20 minutes,'' she said.
Road safety officer with the Yass
Valley and Upper Lachlan Councils
Mark Foran, who launched a five-
month road safety blitz on the
highway with extra highway police
patrols, signage and media awareness,
fears work on a major upgrade
won't begin until after 2010, when
Hume Highway work is completed.
''It is frustrating to see state and
federal announcements in other
areas aimed at reducing commuter
timetables,'' he said.
''Fair dinkum, we're talking about
a road corridor into the national
capital and continuous deaths. For
the life of me I cannot understand
why there is not a stronger push
forward for upgrading the road.''
Wagga Wagga businessman Mark
Verheyden, en route to
Murrumbateman wineries when
caught in yesterday's traffic queue
after the accident, said duplicating
the road was needed urgently.
''There are always people
overtaking. What for? Three hundred
metres up the road they're
stuck behind another truck.''
Murrumbateman resident Gary
Quinn said the highway's T intersection
with McIntosh's Circuit, scene
of yesterday's accident, was poorly
planned and signposted and notorious
for accidents.
Residential estates had sprung up
near the highway and commuters
were heavy morning road users.
'There's a desperate need for an
upgrade, that's shown from a history
of accidents,'' he said.
Kay Lancaster, who works with Mr
Quinn at the Murrumbateman
Country Inn, said the phone rang all
day yesterday with people inquiring
if the highway had reopened.
Businesses regularly lost trade
because of traffic delays after accidents
and the village's reputation for
unscheduled disruptions.
Grazier Chris Darmody said
motorists had to learn to drive to the
conditions, especially during fogs.
''On wet days it comes down to
people's driving. Everyone's waiting
for the bypass. I'd like to see one
from the Hume Highway to Canberra,
it would be fantastic,'' he said.
Mr Darmody said he had seen a
number of fatal accidents and
believed drivers were not thinking
clearly in difficult conditions.
''It is only a matter of slowing
down. If you arrive two or three
minutes late, what's the hassle?''
Resident Alyson Hill said local folk
had no trouble negotiating the
highway safely.
Jenny Foley returned from walking
her two spaniels to her business,
Springer's Rest, on the highway at
6.45am yesterday to find highway
patrol officers booking a man.
Newly arrived from London, she
said she was surprised at how many
police she saw patrolling the highway,
as was the person receiving the
early morning speeding ticket.
''He was a local coming to catch
the bus and he was not a happy boy
being booked,'' she said.