Work has begun on replacing one of the most notorious intersections in Byron Bay with a roundabout – but Byron Shire Council has admitted it won’t be finished until the summer school holidays at the earliest.
In March, council appointed SEE Civil Pty Ltd to construct the new roundabout at the intersection of Bayshore Drive and Ewingsdale Road, announcing a hoped-for completion date of ‘before Christmas’.
Byron Mayor Simon Richardson said, ‘when finished, this new roundabout will have enormous benefits for everyone who visits the Arts and Industrial Estate including residents, business owners, employees and customers who will experience safer and more efficient traffic flow at this notorious intersection’.
According to Council’s Infrastructure Services Director Phil Holloway, ‘SEE Civil’s program of works is scheduled for completion by 20 December 2018, including an allowance for wet weather, so we are hopeful that it will be open before Christmas.
‘We have two main stages of works to complete with the first stage being the construction of the portion of the new roundabout on the southern side of Ewingsdale Road, to limit traffic disruption. This is expected to take around three months to complete,’ Mr Holloway said.
‘Stage two involves connecting the existing lanes on Ewingsdale Road to the southern portion in stage one and traffic will be disrupted and detoured during this time.
‘We will be working hard to minimise disruption and delays, and will increase all our communication efforts through signage, media and website information so our community and visitors are kept up to date with what is going on,’ he said.
The roundabout project, costing $5.7 million, has been jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Building Better Regions Fund ($2.6 million) and the Byron Shire Council ($3.1 million).
One can only hope – in vain perhaps? – that this roundabout will be a better effort than the pathetic roundabout at the new hospital. Whoever designed that ought to be tied to a stake in the middle and left there for a day to observe the nonsense that is the “traffic-calming” fixture there.
Can anyone tell me why Ballina shire can build a major roundabout in 4-5weeks and Byron Shire needs 6-8months?
It seems to defy the the laws of nature.
Steve S: It’s a case of competence versus incompetence.
I agree with Steve. The roundabout closer to town took 49 years to complete. How on earth can a simple roundabout take so long to build? Is major traffic disruption for such a ridiculously long time worth it? Can’t we find somebody who knows how to build a roundabout and let them have a go? I am sure I could build one for a million pretty quick.