Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) has declared a high-level bridge on Troy Bridge Road would not work and confirmed they are fully committed to the current River Street Bridge option.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The RMS is in town and has set up a shop-front to take submissions from the public about road projects, including the River Street Bridge, that it has on its agenda for Dubbo.
Regional Director Western Roads and Maritime Services Alistair Lunn said the bridge project has never been about taking traffic away from Dubbo but about what is best for the city all year round.
Feedback on all three projects is welcome and will be listened to Mr Lunn said, but the public should not expect significant changes to the River Street Bridge project as it currently stands.
"The government has committed $140 million to the River Street Bridge project, but we are in the early days of the project. We are only at concept design stage, and a lot of the opposition to River Street Bridge is around a different problem to what we are trying to solve," he said.
"A ring road or the Troy Bridge option will not work as only 10 per cent of traffic would use it. This is not good value for the taxpayer.
"Troy Bridge will not help with East to West connectivity within Dubbo, Troy Bridge is further out of town and wasn't seen to be able to solve those issues of congestion and flood."
Mr Lunn said the package of work currently on the RMS' agenda would address traffic congestion across the three main highways, keep Dubbo open for business during flood events and support the future growth of Dubbo.
"When the Macquarie River is in flood and Emile Serisier Bridge is closed, LH Ford is the only way to travel across Dubbo from one side of the city to the other. This is not adequate for a regional centre, and restricts growth and development for the town and the wider region," he said.
"Modifying projects is something that happens naturally through the concept to the detail design phase, so what we have gone out to the public with will no doubt end up with some minor tweaks and changes between now and completion and that is why we are encouraging public feedback."
Mayor Ben Shields said he was disappointed that public sentiment is not being taken seriously.
"It is now time for a political intervention from our political leaders and we can't just leave this to bureaucrats who have no connection to the local community," he said.
"I think the only people who can fix this now for Dubbo are the ministry and the public should not give up hope despite what Mr Lunn says.
"Nothing is set in concrete until the concrete is set."
The Stop the River Street Bridge group say they have more than 3000 signatures on a petition that is calling for a bypass and a high-level bridge at Troy Bridge Road.
They say the RMS' computer generated animations portray a 'fantasy land' that won't work on real streets.