The Nationals Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, has launched a petition for the state government to raise the causeway on Tyers Road at a community meeting last night.
It comes after rain flooded the causeway last week, forcing the new Latrobe River Bridge to shut for three days.
About 60 people attended the community meeting last night to voice their concerns and discuss ideas for a lasting solution to the continued closure of the bridge.
“There is understandably a lot of frustration in the community at the moment,” Mr Cameron said.
“Labor has essentially wasted $10.5 million of taxpayer money to build a bridge that will still be shut with even moderate rainfall, all because it cut corners and didn’t listen to advice.
“Tyers Road is a main arterial in the Valley, so when the bridge is closed it impacts the entire region.
“Most importantly, emergency services are forced to add an extra 20 minutes onto their journey because they have to take an alternative route.
“When the bridge was closed last week I witnessed an ambulance, with lights flashing, come to a sudden stop at the causeway on Tyers Road because it was flooded.
“The bottom line is that lives are risk when the bridge is closed, and that is unacceptable.
“A regional Victorian community shouldn’t have to scream and shout for decades for this government to take notice and deliver a bridge they can actually use.
“When then Premier Daniel Andrews promised a new Tyers bridge back in 2015, he admitted ‘so long as… the bridge is flooding all-too-often then it’s holding this region back, costing jobs and opportunities’.
“The Minister for Roads must fix this hack-job immediately by raising the causeway and installing culverts on Tyers Road.”
People are welcome to print off the petition and collect signatures, or sign the petition at Mr Cameron’s office at 12-14 George Street, Morwell or at Melina Bath’s office at 181 Franklin Street, Traralgon.
Download the petition here: https://www.martincameron.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024-Tyers-Bridge.pdf
