Preparation and planning is underway for major reconstruction on sections of Coulsons Creek Road between Merriwa and Willow Tree.
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The reconstruction works will come after a jointly-funded $12.2 million makeover of Coulsons Creek Road was completed last year, connecting the New England Highway to the Golden Highway.
But damage to a section in the Upper Hunter Shire Council (UHSC) area saw a five-tonne load limit and sections of the road which passes across the Great Dividing Range were reduced to single lane.
Upper Hunter Shire Council apologised to users of the road, the NSW and Federal governments who provided funding, and the Liverpool Plains Shire, for the ongoing delays in completing the work.
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"This was always going to be a highly technical challenge on a difficult site. However, the work undertaken last year by Upper Hunter Shire Council has not met the specifications and the job needs to be redone to meet specifications," General Manager Steve McDonald said.
"We are committing more funds to the project and bringing in the necessary expertise to fix the deficient sections of road. It has not been completed to the standards and requires significant reconstruction work.
"The absolute priority is driver safety. The load limit will be in place until the road is fixed, which could take up to three years.
"Once the design works are complete, the detailed cost and indicative timeline for construction will be known. We want to get it done as quickly as we can to the required B-Double standards."
Council is applying for pre-approval of a loan of up to $5 million to complete the major road infrastructure works to connect the west of the Shire - including Merriwa and Cassilis - to the New England Highway.
Member for New England Barnaby Joyce welcomed council's continued commitment toward upgrade of the Merriwa-Willow Tree Road.
"This is a crucial link for people in the Upper Hunter which is also helping connect our corridors of commerce in the New England so it's important we get it right," Mr Joyce said.
