If you are interested in reclassification of the road, heres how you can help. Grab a petition from any of the locations below
* Wingham Chronicle
* Wingham Library
* Bent on Food
* Manning River Times
* The Visitor Information Centre
* Elands Store
* Ellenborough Falls Kiosk
* Comboyne Store and Community Centre
* Udder Cow Cafe
or email us at us td8actiongroup@gmail.com and we will forward you a form.
Find as many people that you can to sign the petition and send the completed petitions to Sandra Kwa, c/- Elands Store, Elands.
Remember that the petition must have a name, address and be signed for it to be valid.
Petition News
The topic of the petition received good media coverage on Wednesday 8th February, on the same day that TD8 meet with the Hon Andrew Stoner. The Hon Andrew Stoner announced on ABC radio the following morning that he would undertake to deliver the petition to the Hon Duncan Gay with his full support.
Watch this space for more news.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
PETITION UPDATE & ROADS FORUM
Welcome to the New Year.
Petition Update
We had much success over the Christmas and New Year period in respect to the compiling of names on petitions. Petition forms were left at the Falls and most tourists more than happy to complete the form promoting the call for funding and reclassification of the road.
The td8actiongroup were also out and about collecting names, and of course Christmas day was a great time to rally family and friends to the cause.
At this stage we appear to have well over a thousand names.
For those of you who have gathered names over the break if you could please forward to Sandra Kwa c/- Elands Post Office as soon as possible, that would be excellent. We are keen to understand how many we have to hand so that we may start planning our submission to the State Government.
For those of you who are keen to assist if you could please print out the attached petition form and gather some names, that too would be excellent. Remember we need the signature, name and address for the petition to be valid.
When you have gathered all your names please forward the forms to Sandra Kwa, c/- Elands Post Office, by no later than Monday 13th February 2012.
Roads Forum
The Manning Valley Business Chamber is holding a Roads Forum on Thursday 2nd February 2012, arrive from 12.00 noon to commence 12.30 pm, at Albert Street, Taree Uniting Church.
Invitees include Local, State and Federal Government representatives.
The forum is specifically to discuss roads funding for the region and the future. A representative from td8actiongroup will be attending, however we encourage everyone to participate in what is a major issue for the Manning Valley.
Petition Update
We had much success over the Christmas and New Year period in respect to the compiling of names on petitions. Petition forms were left at the Falls and most tourists more than happy to complete the form promoting the call for funding and reclassification of the road.
The td8actiongroup were also out and about collecting names, and of course Christmas day was a great time to rally family and friends to the cause.
At this stage we appear to have well over a thousand names.
For those of you who have gathered names over the break if you could please forward to Sandra Kwa c/- Elands Post Office as soon as possible, that would be excellent. We are keen to understand how many we have to hand so that we may start planning our submission to the State Government.
For those of you who are keen to assist if you could please print out the attached petition form and gather some names, that too would be excellent. Remember we need the signature, name and address for the petition to be valid.
When you have gathered all your names please forward the forms to Sandra Kwa, c/- Elands Post Office, by no later than Monday 13th February 2012.
Roads Forum
The Manning Valley Business Chamber is holding a Roads Forum on Thursday 2nd February 2012, arrive from 12.00 noon to commence 12.30 pm, at Albert Street, Taree Uniting Church.
Invitees include Local, State and Federal Government representatives.
The forum is specifically to discuss roads funding for the region and the future. A representative from td8actiongroup will be attending, however we encourage everyone to participate in what is a major issue for the Manning Valley.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
PETITION FOR CLASSIFICATION OF BULGA & COLLING ROADS FROM LOCAL TO REGIONAL
Help Secure the Money to Make Our Roads Safe
The Facts
- Greater Taree City Council (GTCC) has no funds to ensure our roads are safe and appropriately maintained.
- GTCC’s backlog of infrastructure works is $200 million (as at Sept 2011) and is expected to increase by $20 million per year.
- Unless we can secure additional funds for our roads they will continue to deteriorate and become increasingly unsafe for use by our families and friends, the school bus, the business community and local, interstate and international tourists.
- The only solution is to secure financial support from the State and Federal government.
- The State government gives annual funding to local councils to maintain roads classified as “Regional” because of their significance.
How you can help!
Sign the petition today calling for the classification of Bulga and Colling Roads, along Tourist Drive 8, from Local to Regional Roads. Tourist Drive 8 is a heavily promoted tourist drive that provides access to the Legendary Ellenborough Falls and connects the Manning and Hastings Valleys yet much of it is classified as “Local” road and therefore receives no assistance from the State.
For signatures to be valid you have to write your name, address and signature. Please send the completed sheets to Sandra Kwa, c/o Elands Post Office, Elands 2429 by Tuesday 31st January 2012.
For a copy of the petition or for further information please contact us via the email td8actiongroup@gmail.com or post a comment on this site.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
COMMUNITY MEETING - WEDNESDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2011 BULGA HALL
As you are all aware a community meeting was held on 27th November 2011. Given the diverse responses and the need to further discuss the matter it was suggested that a follow up meeting be held on Wednesday 7th December 2011 at the Bulga Hall. The outcome is detailed below:
1. Assessment of what's required to make the Road safe
1. Assessment of what's required to make the Road safe
- Use the engineering and road building knowledge within our community to prepare a document that outlines clearly the work required on the Upper Bulga Road to make it safe and specifies a maintenance program to keep it this way
- This document would look at factors such as the piping for water management and road design
- The aim of this document is to quantify the work required so we have facts and figures to support our request
- Damon, Greg and Kerry to work on this project together and have offered to make any information they put together available to individuals to use for an assessment of their own road
- Marie offered to share the drainage points information provided by GTCC when they built their property
- A petition requesting the reinstatement of Upper Bulga Road and Colling Road as a regional road is currently in circulation
- We would aim to get as many signatures on this petition over the peak holiday time
- Some key points identified to include in the submission for the reclassification:
- Ellenborough Falls will soon be a National Park
- The potential impact of the War Veterans' Remembrance Drive initiative
- The potential negative environmental impact of the road washing away
- Ensuring access for emergency vehicles
- Safety concerns for locals and tourists
- If the School bus could no longer travel down the road, the Dept of Transport would have to pay parents to take their children to school
- It was suggested that we approach GTCC and ask them to put a counter at the Falls to determine the number of cars using the road
- Seek to get the support from GTCC to lodge a joint submission with Port Macquarie Hastings Council for the reclassification of the road
- Maybe get Councillors to come up and see the road
- Encourage locals to make videos to post to YouTube to generate support for our cause
- Put a draft letter and the key contacts at GTCC on www.elandsonline.info so people can easily lobby GTCC
- Encourage locals to register all accidents that occur on the road - Greg to provide contact details of who to report the accident to and this information will be posted to www.elandsonline.info
- Ask them to sign the petition
- Give them an extra piece of paper that encourages them to also write to the Council or to post comments to our website.
Monday, November 28, 2011
UPDATE FROM TD8 ACTION GROUP - 28th November 2011
Below is the update provided by the TD8 Action Group at the Elands Community Lunch and Meeting on Sunday 27th November.
The state of the Upper Bulga Road was a key topic of discussion at the meeting and all in attendance agreed that they wanted the road fixed. While a few ideas were discussed, it was suggested that it would be best to have a meeting to specifically discuss the road. It was agreed that this meeting would take place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 7th December at the Bulga Soldiers Memorial Hall and all are welcome. At this meeting TD8 action group will present a more detailed overview of their recent activities and possible ways for securing the support needed to address the immediate and long term needs of the upper Bulga Road.
STATUS OF THE MARLEE AND DUFFS BRIDGES
The design of the new Marlee and Duffs bridges is now underway. GTCC originally attended to build the Duffs bridge on a new alignment but as some potential aboriginal heritage artefacts were found in the proposed area, it is now most likely that the replacement Duffs bridge will be built on the existing alignment. It is likely that the pre-tender meetings will not take place until January / February 2012. It is the intention of GTCC officers to table a further report to Council regarding the bridges at the December 2011 meeting.
The impact of Duffs bridge now being built on the existing alignment is that this bridge will also need to be shut down for a period of 7 – 10 days at some point during construction, but that is a long way off at this stage and GTCC will be providing regular updates on this to the community.
A 400 tonne crane is required to replace the bridges and a crane of this size will be shipped to the site in pieces and then assembled (assembly alone will take around 5 -6 days). The crane is so large that it is likely that GTCC will also be required to design and construct a concrete pad for it to be placed on.
GTCC received written confirmation earlier this week that the $2.5 million as committed by the State Government will be available to Council in the 2012-2013 financial year.
UPPER BULGA ROAD
GTCC will shortly receive approximately $80,000 from the RTA as part of the natural disaster funding so they can undertake more extensive geotechnical investigations into the slips that took place in June 2011. The RTA are continuing to assess GTCC’s damage claim and the Council hope they will know the RTA’s position on the overall funding claim in the next month or so.
GTCC advised TD8 that the RTA will most probably not provide any funding to Council until November / December 2012 and even if they do provide some level of funding to GTCC later this year, there is no guarantee that they will receive the full amount of the estimate provided to them. GTCC also advised TD8 that it should be clearly noted that the RTA will only fund Council in order to bring the road up to the pre-event condition – they do not provide funding for bringing the road up to a higher standard than it was prior to the storm event. To do this, additional funding would be required by Council.
In relation to the Federal funding of $12.7 million for roads and bridges, GTCC has lodged a funding application however Bulga Road is not included in the works program should GTCC be successful in their funding request.
OPTIONS TD8 HAS BEEN EXPLORING TO SEEK A SAFE & WELL-MAINTAINED ROAD
“Road Maintenance” Volunteers
This idea is modelled on the Rural Fire Service and has been raised by TD8 with GTCC. Council have agreed to discuss it with the Hon. Jennifer Gardiner however as something like this would require the introduction of legislation, it is not anticipated such a service would be created quickly.
Return of Bulga Road to a regional road
The return of Bulga Road to a regional road would provide access to State funding. Over the last two years, TD8 has supplied a reclassification submission to two Roads Ministers and discussed it on a number of occasions with our local member, the Hon. Andrew Stoner. To date, our request has been declined. We recently raised this issue with GTCC and they have agreed to discuss the possibility of a join request for reclassification with Port Macquarie Hastings Council. Following the local launch of the Legendary Pacific Coast program, material regarding the request for reclassification has again been supplied to the Road Minister’s office.
Access to special funding
Given TD8 is repeatedly told by GTCC that they don’t have the funds required to maintain the roads within the Local Government Area, we have asked GTCC if there are any other funding avenues they can access. GTCC has advised TD8 that when the details of the NSW Infrastructure Fund are available, they will enquire if this Fund may provide any additional funding that could be used for roads.
The state of the Upper Bulga Road was a key topic of discussion at the meeting and all in attendance agreed that they wanted the road fixed. While a few ideas were discussed, it was suggested that it would be best to have a meeting to specifically discuss the road. It was agreed that this meeting would take place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 7th December at the Bulga Soldiers Memorial Hall and all are welcome. At this meeting TD8 action group will present a more detailed overview of their recent activities and possible ways for securing the support needed to address the immediate and long term needs of the upper Bulga Road.
STATUS OF THE MARLEE AND DUFFS BRIDGES
The design of the new Marlee and Duffs bridges is now underway. GTCC originally attended to build the Duffs bridge on a new alignment but as some potential aboriginal heritage artefacts were found in the proposed area, it is now most likely that the replacement Duffs bridge will be built on the existing alignment. It is likely that the pre-tender meetings will not take place until January / February 2012. It is the intention of GTCC officers to table a further report to Council regarding the bridges at the December 2011 meeting.
The impact of Duffs bridge now being built on the existing alignment is that this bridge will also need to be shut down for a period of 7 – 10 days at some point during construction, but that is a long way off at this stage and GTCC will be providing regular updates on this to the community.
A 400 tonne crane is required to replace the bridges and a crane of this size will be shipped to the site in pieces and then assembled (assembly alone will take around 5 -6 days). The crane is so large that it is likely that GTCC will also be required to design and construct a concrete pad for it to be placed on.
GTCC received written confirmation earlier this week that the $2.5 million as committed by the State Government will be available to Council in the 2012-2013 financial year.
UPPER BULGA ROAD
GTCC will shortly receive approximately $80,000 from the RTA as part of the natural disaster funding so they can undertake more extensive geotechnical investigations into the slips that took place in June 2011. The RTA are continuing to assess GTCC’s damage claim and the Council hope they will know the RTA’s position on the overall funding claim in the next month or so.
GTCC advised TD8 that the RTA will most probably not provide any funding to Council until November / December 2012 and even if they do provide some level of funding to GTCC later this year, there is no guarantee that they will receive the full amount of the estimate provided to them. GTCC also advised TD8 that it should be clearly noted that the RTA will only fund Council in order to bring the road up to the pre-event condition – they do not provide funding for bringing the road up to a higher standard than it was prior to the storm event. To do this, additional funding would be required by Council.
In relation to the Federal funding of $12.7 million for roads and bridges, GTCC has lodged a funding application however Bulga Road is not included in the works program should GTCC be successful in their funding request.
OPTIONS TD8 HAS BEEN EXPLORING TO SEEK A SAFE & WELL-MAINTAINED ROAD
“Road Maintenance” Volunteers
This idea is modelled on the Rural Fire Service and has been raised by TD8 with GTCC. Council have agreed to discuss it with the Hon. Jennifer Gardiner however as something like this would require the introduction of legislation, it is not anticipated such a service would be created quickly.
Return of Bulga Road to a regional road
The return of Bulga Road to a regional road would provide access to State funding. Over the last two years, TD8 has supplied a reclassification submission to two Roads Ministers and discussed it on a number of occasions with our local member, the Hon. Andrew Stoner. To date, our request has been declined. We recently raised this issue with GTCC and they have agreed to discuss the possibility of a join request for reclassification with Port Macquarie Hastings Council. Following the local launch of the Legendary Pacific Coast program, material regarding the request for reclassification has again been supplied to the Road Minister’s office.
Access to special funding
Given TD8 is repeatedly told by GTCC that they don’t have the funds required to maintain the roads within the Local Government Area, we have asked GTCC if there are any other funding avenues they can access. GTCC has advised TD8 that when the details of the NSW Infrastructure Fund are available, they will enquire if this Fund may provide any additional funding that could be used for roads.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
TD8 UPDATE AT ELANDS MEETING 27TH NOV 2011
On Sunday 27th November, TD8 Action Group (along with other local groups) will give an update at a community get together at the Elands Health Centre.
This update will include the latest information from Greater Taree City Council regarding the status of the Marlee and Duffs Bridges, the disaster relief funding and any other issues relevant to the state of the Upper Bulga Road. We will also provide an update on our recent contact with NSW Ministers and other State bodies.
If you can’t join us on the day, the update will be available on this website on Monday 28th November.
We hope you can join us on the 27th November. If you have any questions in the meantime, please email us.
This update will include the latest information from Greater Taree City Council regarding the status of the Marlee and Duffs Bridges, the disaster relief funding and any other issues relevant to the state of the Upper Bulga Road. We will also provide an update on our recent contact with NSW Ministers and other State bodies.
If you can’t join us on the day, the update will be available on this website on Monday 28th November.
We hope you can join us on the 27th November. If you have any questions in the meantime, please email us.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Bridges and Roads Update
There are still no new bridges as we approach the two-year anniversary of the infamous 2-tonne limit at Marlee, but they are still on Greater Taree City Council's horizon. Certainly the raising of that limit to 8 tonnes has made this waiting game at least tolerable, so there are small achievements to be thankful for.
Another positive is the securing of $2.5 million in State contribution to the bridges, after a full year of intensively lobbying our MP Andrew Stoner prior to the election. We are hopeful that this contribution may be raised to $3 - or even $3.5 - million though not in this financial year. This would make the State contribution 50%, as originally promised, because Council's estimate has gone up from $5 million to $7 million following the first tender process which failed in March this year. The new design tender has just been advertised, the construction tender is planned for April 2012, so there won't be any work on site till around the middle of next year.
Council is planning for two new concrete two-lane bridges, Duffs being on a new road approach, and Marlee using the existing road. This means that Marlee Bridge will have to be completely closed for a period while the old bridge is being demolished and the new one constructed. However, Council is anticipating this closure to be only for 7 to 10 days!
Further up Bulga Rd, extensive damage resulted from the flooding rains in June, with numerous landslip sites including a major one near Elands, which will all cost an estimated $2.8 million to repair. We have, only this morning, spoken about the state of the roads around Ellenborough Falls on ABC Mid North Coast radio, followed by Wendy Machin, president of the NRMA, who is visiting Wingham today and planning to take the Tourist Drive 8 route herself to Wauchope tomorrow morning. We have been in contact with Ms Machin and her Regional Policy Specialist in recent weeks and hope to speak to them this afternoon. Their stated aim for this north coast trip is to start looking more at the back roads.
We have also lodged a submission with NSW Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, requesting that the Tourist Drive 8 route be reclassified to Regional Road status, thereby ensuring that there will be annual State assistance dedicated to this roadwork on these roads. Bulga Rd was a Regional Road when the tourist route was first designated, but was declassified in 1996 leaving Council solely responsible for the road maintenance costs. Andrew Stoner continues to support this endeavour and meet with us on a regular basis. Council has also assured us they are working towards the same end in their dealings with the Roads Minister.
We have been informed by Council's Tourism Coordinator that from November this year, $5 million will be spent on RTA signage to direct tourists to the top ten 'must see' attractions between Sydney and Brisbane. Ellenborough Falls is one of these ten. We are asking the Minister to commit to reclassification before the inevitable increase in tourist traffic begins. Our main reason is road safety, so we are focusing on increasing road width in the narrow spots, safety barriers, pruning of vegetation, and maintaining good surface conditions through resheeting and regular grading.
As you can see, although nothing appears to be happening on the ground, we are continuing to lobby and there is some progress, slow though it may be. As always, we welcome your thoughts, comments and any offers to get involved!
Another positive is the securing of $2.5 million in State contribution to the bridges, after a full year of intensively lobbying our MP Andrew Stoner prior to the election. We are hopeful that this contribution may be raised to $3 - or even $3.5 - million though not in this financial year. This would make the State contribution 50%, as originally promised, because Council's estimate has gone up from $5 million to $7 million following the first tender process which failed in March this year. The new design tender has just been advertised, the construction tender is planned for April 2012, so there won't be any work on site till around the middle of next year.
Council is planning for two new concrete two-lane bridges, Duffs being on a new road approach, and Marlee using the existing road. This means that Marlee Bridge will have to be completely closed for a period while the old bridge is being demolished and the new one constructed. However, Council is anticipating this closure to be only for 7 to 10 days!
Further up Bulga Rd, extensive damage resulted from the flooding rains in June, with numerous landslip sites including a major one near Elands, which will all cost an estimated $2.8 million to repair. We have, only this morning, spoken about the state of the roads around Ellenborough Falls on ABC Mid North Coast radio, followed by Wendy Machin, president of the NRMA, who is visiting Wingham today and planning to take the Tourist Drive 8 route herself to Wauchope tomorrow morning. We have been in contact with Ms Machin and her Regional Policy Specialist in recent weeks and hope to speak to them this afternoon. Their stated aim for this north coast trip is to start looking more at the back roads.
We have also lodged a submission with NSW Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, requesting that the Tourist Drive 8 route be reclassified to Regional Road status, thereby ensuring that there will be annual State assistance dedicated to this roadwork on these roads. Bulga Rd was a Regional Road when the tourist route was first designated, but was declassified in 1996 leaving Council solely responsible for the road maintenance costs. Andrew Stoner continues to support this endeavour and meet with us on a regular basis. Council has also assured us they are working towards the same end in their dealings with the Roads Minister.
We have been informed by Council's Tourism Coordinator that from November this year, $5 million will be spent on RTA signage to direct tourists to the top ten 'must see' attractions between Sydney and Brisbane. Ellenborough Falls is one of these ten. We are asking the Minister to commit to reclassification before the inevitable increase in tourist traffic begins. Our main reason is road safety, so we are focusing on increasing road width in the narrow spots, safety barriers, pruning of vegetation, and maintaining good surface conditions through resheeting and regular grading.
As you can see, although nothing appears to be happening on the ground, we are continuing to lobby and there is some progress, slow though it may be. As always, we welcome your thoughts, comments and any offers to get involved!
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