A trial closure of the Edmondson Street Bridge is one step closer following Wagga Wagga City Council’s approval of important traffic mitigation strategies. Photo: Chris Roe.
Wagga Wagga City Council is close to giving its final tick of approval to a traffic plan that will allow for a trial closure of a major road in the centre of town.
As part of works to construct a Melbourne to Brisbane inland rail route through Wagga Wagga, the Edmondson Street Bridge is set to be torn down and rebuilt. The bridge is expected to be out of action for 18 months.
The Federal Government entity Inland Rail and the council have been trying to negotiate a trial two-week closure of the bridge to get a better understanding of the traffic implications prior to the works.
After many delays, the council has ticked off on two major components of the traffic plan and is hopeful of having an entire traffic management plan approved by Transport for NSW and a trial closure by the end of the school year.
The two major components approved by the council included Inland Rail and construction contractor Martinus’s proposal to restrict all right turn movements into and out of streets intersecting with Bourke Street between the Urana Street roundabout and the railway line, as well as installing a temporary roundabout at the intersection of Coleman and Macleay streets in Turvey Park.
According to council business papers, the restriction of right-hand turns between Bourke Street and the Urana Street roundabout will “eliminate increased risks of side impact and rear-end collisions at the intersections because of the redistribution of traffic associated with the closure of Edmondson Street Bridge”.
“The restriction on right turn movements into and out of the streets intersecting with Bourke Street between the Urana Street roundabout and the railway line will also optimise the operational efficiency of the Bourke Street corridor north of the Urana Street roundabout,” the papers read.
The papers also shed light on the planned temporary roundabout at the intersection of Coleman and Macleay streets.
“[Inland Rail is proposing] to install a temporary roundabout at the intersection of Coleman Street and Macleay Street in Turvey Park to improve the operational efficiency of the intersection as well as the crossability of the streets for pedestrians,” the report reads.
While there is no concrete date for when the trial closure for the Edmondson Street Bridge is set to take place, Mayor Dallas Tout said the approval of the traffic mitigation strategies was a major step forward in having it occur this year.
“There’s an eagerness to attempt to get it done by the end of the year,” he said.
“In the long journey we’ve had as far as Inland Rail and Edmondson Street Bridge, there are a number of trigger points and approvals that are needed all the way along the way, and one of those was approval from the transport forum for these two particular items.
“There have been ongoing meetings, and those meetings include a number of stakeholders, including transport, police, emergency services and council.
“Those discussions cover a wide range of things, whether it’s safety, traffic management, or what the infrastructure of the network can handle. These two items particularly came up in relation to safety and trying to manage the traffic flows and move them back into Urana Street, onto the roundabout. So, but you’ve got to keep in mind, those two approvals aren’t the whole suite of mitigations.
“If that’s all forthcoming, then there is an eagerness to have that trial prior to the end of the year, prior to the end of the school term.”
