Breaking News
Rail link construction chaos
Jenny Galbraith
06Feb07
UP to 900 truck movements a day on Showground Rd could be a reality during the construction of the North West Rail Link, causing unimaginable traffic chaos at Castle Hill.
Baulkham Hills Council has sent a strong message to the State government, demanding the North West Rail Link be built as one project - not in two stages as put forward in the report by the Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation.
If the project were built in two stages construction would centre around the proposed Hills Centre Station next to the Castle Hill Showground.
If it were built in one stage the main construction site would be on land already purchased for the project at Balmoral Rd.According to the council's traffic manager Andrew King the number of truck movements on Showground Rd to transport spoil from the tunnelling would depend on the type of rock they found underground.
If it was hard rock, there would be around 100 truck movements a day; if it was softer the figure could be around 900.
Cr Peter Dimbrowsky said this would cause a nightmare scenerio and residents would be happy to wait two more years for the rail line.
``It's not worth the cost of the biggest social and environmental disaster on the people of Castle Hill,'' he said.
The government announced late last year that it could fast-track the rail link and have the line from Beecroft to the Hills Centre completed by 2015 if it was built in stages.
The line from the Hills Centre to Rouse Hill would then be completed by 2017.
In its submission the council requested the government commit to a secure permanent future for the showground.
The showground's managing committee also sent in a submission, outlining its concerns about the impact construction would have on the showground.
Chairman of the showground committee Harry Hyland said he feared the State government would want to turn the land around the Hills Centre station into carparking or medium and high density housing.
In its submission to TIDC the council also said it did not support any of the rail line being above ground, including the 1km elevated viaduct along Old Windsor Rd.
Councillors said the viaduct would ruin the look of the area, bring house prices down and bring undesirable social problems to the area.
Cr David Bentham, who has an engineering background, said many cities across the world had underground railways, and although it would cost more to put the entire line underground, it was cheaper in the long run.
``History tells us underground rail line are very low maintenance,'' he said.
Cr Martin Tolar warned although the rail line would bring many benefits to the shire, it would change it dramatically.
Cr Ray Harty said people should be very concerned about the alternative option put in the report for the line to be entirely above ground from the Hills Centre to Rouse Hill.
``We need to be very strong in our resolve and in no ambiguous terms make it very clear that any alternative option of 10km of viaduct is not acceptable to this council and not acceptable to the community of Baulkham Hills,'' he said.
