Moruya Bypass explainer: How was the route chosen and what are the concerns?

Hurry up! This road is so sorely needed by all in the community as well as our holiday makers. Elevating the road is the only sensible solution with regards to flooding, we only have to look at the 2022 floods in the northern rivers to see what happens when infrastructure is placed on the ground and no regard given to natural circumstances when they occur.

The Orange corridor that has been suggested (and I would like to know by whom and how many chose this one),is far too long. There is no need to include Shelly Road in the Bypass. Agreed, something does have to be done there but this can be achieved without including it in the Bypass.

The best and least destructive route is the purple route. It goes through minimum water areas and is closer to town, closer to the hospital and much cheaper to build. If we want to save our town, i.e. bring tourists in – then the closer route is the best.

The Berry Bypass was done extremely well, homes that were near it – had a sound barrier build and motorists can easily visit Berry if they want to.

The proposed massive structure across our prime flats will not only be an eyesore but will need continuous up keep – re the acid soil, and water run off.

Enjoyed this edition very much and very informative I always look forward to reading input to learn more of what is going on in the area I live in I love living here on the South Coast a lot of people say We live in Paradise.
I am glad Ian Campbell started off About Reginal and it has grown to what it is today a much looked forward score to learn what is happening in our regeion

PROBLEMS WITH PROPOSED MORUYA BYPASS ROUTE.

Note, I am for a bypass, just not the current proposed route.

Firstly everyone needs to be aware that the new bridge and highway will be 2km to the east (at the closest point) and the nearest turn off to Moruya from this new road will be 3.2km from the South of town or 3.5 from the North of town.

Why is this a problem?
Studies of bypasses show that the further the highway is moved from the town being bypassed, the bigger the economic impact on the town and its businesses.

Example Study

https://dspace.carthage.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/6263/MattF.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

pg.8.

“The results showed that the farther away the traffic is transported from the city, the greater effect that the bypass has on the city.
One place of study is in Yass, Australia. A bypass was built around the town and after a year, researchers studied the area. “48.3% of retail businesses had a decrease in gross annual sales. 14% of jobs were lost.” (Srinivasan et al. 2002). “

So if you look closely at bypasses up and down the coast (that people recognise as successful) you may notice that nearly all have bypasses that merely skirt the edge of town, and have a turn off into the CBD or main street from the bypass.

However the Moruya bypass plan does not appear to look at economic impacts on the town of moving the Highway several kilometres away?

Their main reason given for preferring the Orange route over the purple route is “liveability” claiming a lower impact for the orange option, but this appears to be incorrect.

e.g. The Orange route goes through many clusters of homes, some of which will obviously have to be demolished. One elderly farming couple came to the same public info session and complained that they were not informed that they were affected, or that their home would likely need to be demolished.

Compare this to the alternative Purple route, which is actually the lowest impact route. Coming across the river through tree cover just east of riverside park, not even visible, then through an empty paddock in front of the sewer works (no view lost there) Then through empty wetland paddocks next to the existing highway and golf course (no-one affected there?) then behind trees heading south east behind the big Church block and TAFE and joining back to the old Highway right before the entrance to the new Hospital. Also there can be no future development around the purple route road, because it is all through flood prone lowlands where development is not allowed.

The longest route to the new hospital is actually the Orange route (as the government plan admits) Not only is the Orange bypass much longer, but Ambulances will have to drive an extra 1.6km from the new highway to backtrack to the new hospital.

So the ‘liveability’ impact of the Orange route is much higher than the purple, and the economic impact is likely to be far more severe.

We have to the 14th June to submit a comment on this link.

https://princeshighway.nsw.gov.au/tfnsw/phu/have-your-say-moruya?fbclid=IwAR074XFt-bu3NXHJ58h5yS_pF2nvz6RWwWORfCF94xp848g73l-dRorzwQ4

Sooner the better. I like the preferred option

This bypass is an absolute necessity … Over the 26 years I have lived in the area, the traffic through town has increased exponentially. The bypass can’t come quick enough for me. The preferred route makes complete sense and will have the least impact on our community

Simply put it is in the wrong place For decades it was planned to use crown lands from around Percy Davis Road South to East of the granite quarry then follow the crown reserved road from the river until it meets the Congo road then Noads road to the highway at the RMS depot. That is in essence the yellow option. The consultants have admitted the yellow option will be cheaper, quicker and will not divide rural properties affected for at least 3 years and not to build reportedly the longest eyesore bridge in Australia. With compassion and sensible planning the yellow option can be done with minimum destruction of homes, quicker and cheaper and not divide prime agricultural lands.
To place concrete piers,40 meters apart on wet salt affected lands with known acid sulphate soils is foolhardy as in such an environment. The construction and ongoing polluted water runoff off this bridge will threaten the Malabar Lagoon habitat.

The bypass is needed but put it in the right place. Use the crown lands available, do it cheaper and quicker and do it with the least impact on peoples homes and farming operations

Stop talking and get on with it

$148 million for a new Nelligen Bridge.
How much for a new Bypass?
Only $200 million for a new Eurobodalla hospital.
Something doesn’t add up