COUNCIL has called for patience from the community as it embarks on the next stage of the Manilla Rd upgrade.
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Monday will mark the beginning of an anticipated phase of the $25 million project with a new roundabout to be built on the intersection of Peel and Marius streets.
It will also see two roundabouts near the Jewry St bridge removed, which have been a bugbear for Tamworth drivers for years.
Tamworth Regional Council mayor, Col Murray, said the works will, unfortunately, impact locals.
“It is something we can’t avoid,” Cr Murray said.
“We have to do our best plans to ensure the safety of the community and all the workers.
“We do ask that the community do be patient and think about long term gain for this little bit of short term pain.”
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Thousands of tourists are expected to make the trek to Tamworth, in coming weeks, for the country music festival, but the mayor said Manilla Rd traffic numbers actually drop-off around that time.
“Whilst it is something we would have liked to have avoided, it just didn’t work that way with the weather cycles and the completion works like asphalt sealing during the colder months.”
Tamworth MP, Kevin Anderson, said it would’ve been “chaotic” to do the Manilla Rd project all at once.
The project has been funded by the NSW government and Mr Anderson said it was critical to take anticipated growth into account when it came to road projects.
“We’ve got to stay ahead of the game and try to anticipate some of the traffic congestion problems that will come,” he said.
The state member also iterated a hefty list road projects in the Tamworth region he wants to see progressed in 2018.
“Council have got some preliminary designs on that.
“We’d like to see the sealing of Rangari Rd and also start that mammoth task of looking at Port Stephens Cutting and how do we make some of those sharp corners a lot safer.”