THE need for a connection between Orange and Mudgee has been raised in Australian Parliament by Calare MP Andrew Gee.
The $19.3 million connection would include a bridge over the Macquarie River at Dixons Long Point, along with paving of about 40 kilometres of road.
Mr Gee spoke recently in parliament about the connection and said it would bring a much-needed boost to tourism, commerce and health services for the region.
“One of the great unfinished road projects in central-western NSW is a decent road link between Orange and Mudgee across the Macquarie River at Dixons Long Point,” he said.
“I often refer to it as the holy grail of unfinished road projects because people have been trying to get this link for 160 years.
“There have been many advocates for the crossing, including Sir Charles Cutler, the former member for Orange and Deputy Premier of NSW.”
A feasibility study into the connection has already been conducted thanks to $200,000 in funding provided by the NSW and federal governments.
PLANNING IN PROGRESS: The then Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester and Calare MP Andrew Gee at the site in late 2016. Photo: SUPPLIED
A spokeswoman for Mr Gee said while the study had been completed, it was not yet a public document.
Mr Gee said there had been a “huge groundswell of support in the local community” for the project to go ahead.
Orange City Council mayor Reg Kidd agreed that the connection would bring many benefits to the region, including a much-quicker travel time.
“It’d open up the Central West in terms of getting people from the Hunter Valley and Newcastle, where there’s big populations, and funnelling them through from Mudgee to Orange and beyond,” he said.
Cr Kidd said, however, that the connection had been talked about for more than a century.
“Lets hope if it’s going to open it happens this time because it’s been talked about since the gold rush days,” he said.
Mid-Western Regional Council general manager Brad Cam also supports the initiative.
“Council is supportive of the Dixons Long Point Crossing proposal as an alternative access route between the Mid-Western, Cabonne and Orange local government areas and the time saving on travel,” he said.
“Council continues to work with Cabonne Shire Council on detailed feasibility studies of the proposal.”
Cabonne Council was unable to provide comment prior to deadline.
Source: Nadine Morton, Mudgee Guardian, 25 October 2018
