PROPOSED URANQUINTY VILLAGE LIBRARY SERVICES

Representatives from Wagga City Council will be meeting with community groups over the next week to dicuss Council’s proposed library services for rural villages in the Wagga LGA.  Uranquinty community members will meet with them on Tuesday 3 August at the Neighourhood Community Centre.  For more information on this proposal, please click here 

COUNCIL ELECTIONS

 DUNNS ROAD UPDATE

Work has started on upgrading the surface of Dunns Road from 19 July – 2 August.  Further information on the proposed upgrade of this important road link is now available here in this video and in the following article in the Daily Advertiser of 21 July:

Dunns Road upgrade delayed again: November start date, mid-2023 completion

A long-awaited $8.3 million upgrade to Dunns Road has been pushed back by five months from its most recent estimated start date, with a council spokesperson confirming the project is expected to get underway in November this year.

“Designs for the upgrade are being finalised with construction planned to commence November 2021, weather permitting,” a spokesperson said.

Residents and users of the notoriously dangerous road have been calling for an upgrade to the shortcut between the Olympic Highway and Holbrook Road, which currently alternates between dirt and sealed surfaces, for decades. Uranquinty Progress Association president Deb Bewick welcomed a firm start date for the project, but said continual delays have left the community sceptical.

“There’s most definitely an attitude of, we’ll believe it when we see it happening,” Mrs Bewick said.

The upgrade, which will include the sealing of the whole road, intersection upgrades, speed limit signs and more, was confirmed in late 2019 to be completed by by mid-2021.

The project was later pushed to a June 2021 start date to be completed by late-2022. The new start date will see the project completed by mid-2023.

In its current state, the road is vulnerable to potholes and corrugation during poor weather. It is currently closed for maintenance after last week’s rains caused extensive damage.

Dunns Road resident and long-time campaigner for a fix to the dangerous state of the road Wayne Lennon said he avoids using the stretch at all these days.

“We’ve had a windscreen done on it, I refuse to drive on it … it’s just too dangerous,” Mr Lennon said.

Mr Lennon and Mrs Bewick agreed the road is not currently safe, and said the upgrade will improve things.

“It’s never policed, the 4WDs use it as a drag strip, and a lot of other cars do as well,” Mr Lennon said. “The 4WDs try to be “first to the dirt”, they speed so they’re not sitting in someone else’s dust.”

“It’s one of those things, they call it a rat run – [drivers] can go there and nobody is looking so they push their way through it,” Mrs Bewick said.

“Sealing the road will certainly improve safety,” Mr Lennon said. “It would reduce the amount council spends each year on maintenance, and the bottom line is that lives potentially would be saved as well.”

Mr Lennon’s point is substantiated by council’s fact sheet on the project which sites known deaths on the road in factors influencing the ultimate approval of the upgrade.

“A death occurred on Dunns Road in 2000,” the fact sheet states. “A death had also occurred at the Holbrook/ Dunns Road intersection approximately 10 years prior. Many other serious injury incidents had also occurred at the two intersections and along Dunns Road itself.”

Dunns Road is currently closed between 7am and 5pm on weekdays for repairs, with the road predicted to reopen on August 2.

COMMUNITY HALL

COVID-19 Safety Plan  If you are interested in hiring our Community Hall, please make sure you read the Safety Plan developed by Wagga Wagga City Council and Uranquinty Progress Association.  All information and booking form for hiring the Uranquinty Community Hall can be found here.

Uranquinty Progress Association is very pleased to announce we have been successful in obtaining funding through the Stronger Communities Program to replace the oven, stainless steel benches and freezer for the Hall kitchen.

As everyone is very much aware, mobile phone reception in parts of the village is somewhat variable. We are very pleased to announce that the Hall will soon have WiFi access available for all visitors.  The Wagga Wagga Revival Fellowship are regular users of the Hall and they are proposing to install an NBN connection at the Hall. The community would like to express its thanks to members of the Fellowship and Uranquinty Progress Association who have worked hard to make this happen, it will be a great asset for all users of the Hall and finally bring us into the 21^st Century!

DRAFT FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT PLAN

As everyone is aware, this has been an ongoing issue for some years but finally there are signs of progress. The Flood Management Report for Small Villages,“The Tarcutta, Ladysmith and Uranquinty Floodplain and Risk Management Studies and Plans Draft Report” known as VOFFS (Village Overland Flood Flow Study) has been on public exhibition and available for feedback until 5 May, 2021.

Members of WWCC and the consulting engineers met with local residents and separately with members of Uranquinty Progress Association and Uranquinty Community Safety Group in April to discuss the recommendations for Uranquinty. The comprehensive feedback provided by Uranquinty residents was acknowledged by everyone and we await the final report’s submission to Council.

Following this meeting it was great to see that on 12 May action to upgrade the north levee on Churches Plain road was beginning – this is much needed maintenance work to prevent regular flooding to Baker and Taber Streets which suffered considerably following the February 2021 rain event.

By the end of May the maintenance work on the northern levy had been completed and UPA is very appreciative of the response from Wagga Wagga City Council in responding to residents’ concerns.

Deb Bewick

President

Uranquinty Progress Association

E: uranqinty2652@gmail.com