Works on the agenda

By Jim Mynard
THE City of Casey was last night expected to earmark $260,000 to complete construction of Gwendoline Drive, Berwick.
The money was expected to be referred to the 2006/07 budget discussions where its fate would be decided later this year.
If the money is approved in the budget, the unmade section of Gwendoline Drive would be completed soon after.
Residents have been upset about the road since Golf Links Road was truncated to make way for configuration of the Berwick Bypass years ago.
Gwendoline Drive was to be an alternative route from Golf Links Road, which no longer had access to Clyde Road, to provide a link to Centre Road and back on to Clyde Road.
In the past few months, Springfield Ward councillors Lorraine Wreford and Michael Farley have presented joint letters from residents expressing frustration about the unmade road.
Casey engineering manager David Richardson said in a report to last night’s meeting that a third letter had been received and that there had been a community expectation since the early 1980s that the road would be built.
Mr Richardson said the expectation and frustration had increased during the last year because the council had completed the southern section of the road to service the new Centre Road Primary School.
He said developers constructed the northern section of Gwendoline Drive to service the new residential area.
“The petitioners want the road constructed now,” he said.
Mr Richardson said the road was a collector road serving the land directly abutting Gwendoline Drive and also provided a northsouth link between Golf Links Road and Centre Road.
He said the missing link was a 140metre section in the middle of Gwendoline Drive.
The Road Construction Authority of the day paid the former City of Berwick $93,000 compensation when the Golf Links and Clyde Road intersection was lost, but all the money was spent on land acquisition for the new link.
Mr Richardson said the demand for Gwendoline Drive was not based on old agreements, but on current needs of the road network to service the area adequately.
“Gwendoline Drive has been identified in the structure plan for the area as one of three northsouth collector roads linking Golf Links Road to Centre Road.
“As the area has developed, it is important the final section of Gwendoline Drive is constructed to distribute traffic across the collector road network.
“The traffic demand for Gwendoline Drive is adding to resident frustration when there was an expectation to build the road earlier,” he said.