The potential for Imlay Road to be considered the main east-west freight corridor linking the Port of Eden with the Monaro and beyond was raised at last week’s Bega Valley Shire Council meeting.
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However, the notice of motion from Cr Sharon Tapscott to have the state government take on full ownership of the road was considered “jumping the gun” by other councillors around the table.
Imlay Rd, south of Eden, is currently designated a State Forest road and used extensively by logging trucks. In 2014 it was the route used to transport components from the port to the Boco Rock Wind Farm
Cr Tapscott highlighted the “unreliability” of the Snowy Mountains Hwy at Brown Mountain, saying Imlay Rd “is a superior road by any measure” and requested council petition state government to have the southern road designated the main freight transport corridor.
Cr Robyn Bain countered by saying Imlay Rd may be the gateway to Eden, but it was not a gateway to the whole shire. She suggested efforts would be better spent pressuring the government on improving Brown Mountain.
Cr Russell Fitzpatrick also said focusing on the southern road may not be in the whole shire’s best interest.
“All current strategies I’ve seen have the Snowy Mountains Hwy as the main east-west corridor,” he said.
“I agree with the sentiment, but I think we’re jumping the gun before analysing the situation fully.”
He pointed out Bega Cheese transports up to 50 trucks a day, mainly to Canberra, and to have them travel the additional 160km the trip would entail could make it economically unviable.
An amendment to the motion asking the government to investigate which of the three routes – Imlay, Mt Darragh and Brown – would be best was approved by a majority vote.
Cr Tapscott repeated her belief that Brown Mountain’s reliability for freight movements has been in question for some time, but was happy to see an amendment that put all three routes up for discussion.
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