Letter: Dismay Over Overpass

Dear Editor,

I write in dismay and objection to the surprise decision by Upper Hunter Shire Councillors at their meeting last week to rescind the long held and community supported determination for the construction of a rail overpass to replace the existing level crossing on Kelly Street, Scone with a flawed proposal to build an overpass to the saleyards and abattoir, north of the town boundary, through the Makybe Diva Street, industrial estate.

The WHOLE PURPOSE of the Kelly Street Rail Overpass as announced by the then Mayor Michael Johnsen and the Roads and Maritime Services Executive Steve Arnold, was for a “two bridge solution” that the bypass overbridge would cater for highway traffic and the Kelly Street Rail Overpass would replace the existing level crossing and cater for the residents of Scone to offset the impact of ever increasing coal trains that divide the town. An overpass at Liverpool street is impossible but very feasible and cost efficient at Kelly Street. Funding of both projects was to be concurrent.

Residents of Scone, if Council’s current decision prevails you will be forever condemned to being held to ransom by these coal trains seven days a week, twenty four hours a day. The now proposed Saleyards Overpass, outside the current 60kph limits off the highway north of Scone will do NOTHING for the residents of Scone and will NOT be a viable offset against the delays of coal trains as they become more frequent and longer. Satur residents going to the CBD or residents of Figtree Monty taking children to school, you will have no alternative but sit and wait.

Incomprehensively, the Management Report that was presented to the Council meeting last week FAILED to mention even once the residents of Scone or the division of the town caused by trains closing both existing level crossings at the same time. NO CONSIDERATION has been given by this Council for the residents of Scone, NO CONSIDERATION for the cross- connection requirements of the town and a complete FAILURE to acknowledge the primary purpose of the Rail Overpass at Kelly Street is to offset the division of this town by trains.

I could get personal and say that none of the management hierarchy responsible for this report actually live in Scone, nor do the majority of Councillors voting to drop the Kelly Street Rail Overpass for the Saleyards option, but I won’t get personal.

I note with similar dismay the emergency services letters purporting to support the saleyards option. If you can tell me, if there were any incident in Scone town west of the rail line, say a Lockdown at the Primary School, a fire at the Grammar School, or a heart attack at the Pool, that it would be better for the response agencies to drive north to the Kelly Street level crossing which is closed by a train, then north on Muffet Street over  1.5km to the saleyards, west on an overpass to Makybe Diva Industrial Area then to the current New England Highway, then south again over 1.5km to the original point on the other side of the Kelly street rail crossing, than it would be to merely drive over the overpass replacing the existing level crossing. It is ludicrous to suggest that emergency response is not optimised by a Kelly Street Rail Overpass as compared to the current Council’s latest idea at the saleyards. Residents of Scone will miss out again and blind Freddy can see it, apparently the Councillors cannot, acknowledging not all Councillors did support the change.

To make matters worse, the Saleyards overpass costs nearly $10 million MORE than the originally agreed and supported Kelly Street Rail Overpass!

For the Business Houses in Scone CBD , relying on passing trade coming off the new by-pass to come into your town, the Councils wants your visitors to come into town south by-passing again the McDonalds, two service stations and two motels and enter town by the “scenic route”, through the Industrial Estates, Saleyards and Abattoir or continue to be held up by trains at the Kelly Street railway level crossing, not the way to offset the loss of passing trade inevitable by the Highway By-Pass.

For the ARTC, the Kelly Street proposed Rail Overpass eliminates another level crossing and for emergency services, the removal of yet another traffic and pedestrian railway crossing hazard. A fact again not mentioned in the Council Management Report or the emergency services letters, unbelievable!

The only reason to support the Council’s new proposal is that it will get trucks out of the CBD. WRONG, trucks will always be required to enter the CBD, deliveries to business houses, etc. Many of the saleyards trucks operate outside of normal business hours and therefore have NO impact on the CBD, trucks from the north or the west don’t come through town anyway, so it’s now down to Gundy Road only and these could just take the southern highway by-pass connection and stay out of town too. With the highway by-pass, what is left to remove, trucks delivering to local businesses. Its laughable in the extreme to spend $31 million to get these few trucks out of town and provide NO other benefit to the town.

At NO TIME has the new proposal been placed on PUBLIC EXHIBITION, at NO TIME has there been any community engagement around the proposed changes despite the extensive “communications team” within Council, to the contrary, it has been kept quiet. Reminds me very much of the secretive sale of the Scone Library, but more about that one later, what is going on behind closed doors?

Where to from here? The Council does have the Option to rescind their latest ill-considered motion at its next meeting and engage with the residents of Scone, Business community, ARTC and Emergency Services, THAT IS the only reasonable thing to do.

Daryl Dutton,
Scone Resident

Editor’s Note: Daryl Dutton is the former General Manager of the Upper Hunter Shire Council and was instrumental in obtaining the funding for the overpass.

Related stories:

• Council Change Overpass Location – July 3, 2018.
• Editorial: White Elephant for Blue Horse. – July 3, 2018.