Wagga Residents and Ratepayers Association President Chris Roche has expressed his concerns about potential traffic delays the new Lake Albert Business Hub could cause during the rebuilding of the Edmondson Street Bridge. Photo: Jarryd Rowley. Inset: Chris Roe.
The new Lake Albert Road Business Hub is set to lease out to its first retail business come January 2026, leaving some Wagga residents concerned about even more traffic delays on one of Wagga’s busiest roads.
Lake Albert Road is expected to cop the brunt of detoured traffic once the Edmondson Street Bridge is demolished by Inland Rail sometime in 2026.
Due to the heightened traffic, Inland Rail has implemented traffic cameras around the city to monitor traffic hotspots during a trial closure of the bridge ahead of its demolition.
The new Lake Albert Road Business Hub at 11-15 Lake Albert Rd is expected to add new retail tenants to its 31-unit, 116-carpark space following the trial closure of the bridge, but some Wagga residents believe the site hasn’t been considered by Inland Rail in its traffic control planning in relation to the bridge’s demolition and eventual reconstruction.
Wagga Wagga Residents and Ratepayers Association president Chris Roche said the future of the hub and its potential capacity hadn’t been discussed between Inland Rail and the ratepayers association and that managing traffic in Wagga had been a bigger challenge than Inland Rail expected.
“We’ve seen no communications in regard to the added congestion from the surrounding developments and what they’re going to cause to the traffic. We’ve seen nothing about it at all,” he said.
“You want to see these sorts of developments succeed. That’s really important to the investment it has in Wagga.
“However, its location in relation to the Inland Rail detour, whilst the Edmonton Street Bridge is knocked down, is going to cause extra conjecture and extra congestion there.
“It’s going to be pretty chaotic. It’s not the development’s fault; it’s because of the Inland Rail detour and Inland Rail temporary bridge closure, which just really adds to the issue we’re going to have.”
Mr Roche said the lack of consideration around the hub was an example of the little things Inland Rail had failed to consider when planning for the demolition and closure of the Edmondson Street Bridge.
“Inland Rail has no idea how big the impact of the Edmondson Street Bridge closure is going to be,” he said.
“They think it’s a simple process, when in reality it’s going to be huge. The bridge sees more than 10,000 cars move on it a day, and they’re relying on traffic using other major intersections to get around the train line, when in reality, many like Lake Albert Road are already at capacity.”
Inland Rail says it is working closely with Wagga Wagga City Council, emergency services, and the community to mitigate traffic impacts and make sure the trial runs as smoothly as possible.
“We’ve done extensive traffic modelling for Lake Albert Road and to prepare for the Edmondson Street Bridge closure,” a spokesperson said.
“Inland Rail has also funded eight new integrated cameras at key intersections — including Lake Albert Road and Railway Street.
“These cameras give our traffic management team real-time visibility across Wagga Wagga’s road network, boosting our ability to respond quickly and keep congestion under control.
“Throughout the trial and construction, we’ll monitor live traffic data and make immediate adjustments if needed, working closely with road authorities to minimise disruption. Local businesses can share feedback or ask questions about traffic measures by calling our community hotline on 1800 732 761.”
Geoff Seymour, Director/Commercial Portfolio Manager at Fitzpatricks Real Estate, which is managing the hub, said there had been little to no concern by the current tenants of the hub. However, he did admit none of the current tenants consisted of retail businesses, with the first set to move in sometime in December or January.
“I don’t think we will see any real issues regarding traffic until it reaches 100 per cent capacity, which we probably won’t see for another 18 months or two years,” he said.
“Council has imposed a ‘left turn only’ regulation out of the complex when the site was approved. There is also a merging lane in the middle of Lake Albert Road as you come up the hill.
“It’s not affecting that complex at this stage, but the tenants that are there mainly drive in, do their work all day and then drive out. They’re not retail tenants, although there is, there is one coming in the next couple of months.”
The trial closure of the Edmondson Street Bridge is set to begin on Saturday 22 November and run for about two weeks. The announcement of an official time period for the demolition of the bridge will be made once a traffic management plan has been finalised following the observation and reporting of traffic from the trial closure.
