Council News WAGGA WAGGA CITY COUNCIL
FIRST PRINTED SATURDAY 19 JULY 2014
Issue 3
Weekly information from us to you
BEFORE AND AFTER: The Shockeroo Bridge after the 2012 floods (left) and the new bridge (right) completed as part of Council’s $45M of road infrastructure flood recovery works.
$45M of flood recovery road works completed
In 2010 and 2012, Wagga endured three floods which, in addition to major upheaval and distress for large parts of our community, resulted in a $45M list of repairs required on road infrastructure across the Local Government Area. That long list of repair work to over
1200km of roads, six bridges and 300 culverts is now nearing completion, bringing to a close a period of intense work by Council staff across all corners of the Wagga Council area. “It’s been a massive effort by staff over the past three years, with the road repair
work alone requiring us to move 1000 cubic metres of gravel each day, five days a week,” said Director of Infrastructure, Heinz Kausche. “To put that in perspective, that is about 25 large truckloads of gravel a day and five times our normal weekly operating output.”
Over 500km of unsealed road, equivalent to nearly half Council’s entire unsealed road network, was resheeted - receiving new gravel before being graded, reshaped and rolled. Story continues next page.
RiFL gains Traxion In a major step forward for the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics (RiFL) Hub, Council has commenced direct negotiations with Traxion, an Australian company focused on developing and operating open access railway terminals and infrastructure.
Traxion was selected as the preferred applicant from Council’s recent Expressions of Interest process for the development of the four key areas within the RiFL Hub being direct rail access, rail related development, the intermodal facility and agricultural bulky goods areas. Council is working with Traxion to review current and future business opportunities specific to the RiFL Hub. This will continue for a period of two to three months. “With Traxion’s involvement we have created a practical
The RiFL Hub has been designed to deliver: • A highly efficient and cost effective intermodal operation • Reduced cost of logistics in the nation’s supply chain • Ongoing growth of state and regional economies and long term employment opportunities • Improved import and export services direct to Port Botany, Port of Melbourne path for the project that incorporates the delivery of the right infrastructure at the right time to support the development of a commercially viable freight hub,” said Council’s Director of Commercial and Economic Development Dr Peter Adams. Since launching the Bomen Master Plan in
and other ports depending on economic advantage • Support to the State of NSW’s significant investment in rail infrastructure both Sydney based and State wide • An operation that is integrated with the national transport and logistics network • More reasons to shift freight from road to rail • Improvements to the current domestic intermodal rail freight services.
2009 which nominated an intermodal hub as a high priority, the RiFL Hub has gained significant investment from Council and Federal Government towards constructing the essential enabling road and rail infrastructure. The RiFL Hub will be the only intermodal terminal on the Main Southern Railway
Line capable of loading and unloading trains of the current 1800 metre maximum length. “The RiFL Hub has always been about Council partnering with all levels of Government and the private sector to provide regional business access to a competitive freight solution that will open up
commercial opportunities to the nation and the world,” Dr Adams continued. “Traxion has a core focus on developing and managing independent, open access railway terminals and infrastructure. The management team have a long history in the Australian railway industry including experience with both rail infrastructure development and rail operations. The company and their customer base have benefited from a simple and proven philosophy of providing customer focused, efficient and safe solutions to the transport industry.”