Transport for NSW is now making calls to residents along its "preferred" Orange Route to advise them that their land will be impacted without compensation, their homes destroyed and their livelihoods gone.
To the average Moruyaite the Purple, Orange and Yellow Routes are just lines on a map. To most locals they look to see how inconvenienced their shopping and commute experience might be and ask little more that "where are the on and off ramps?".
For local businesses the favoured preference is the Purple Route that least impacts them. They argue that the further from the township, the greater the financial loss from the diverted passing tourist.
The Purple Route folk will argue until they are blue in the face that their route provides the least impact on homes, is the cheapest and by far the best option to ensure passing tourists won't actually bypass the town.
It is understood that the folk behind the design of the new $200 million Eurobodalla Regional health clinic don't like the Purple Route suggesting that they don't want to see it. No doubt 26m long B-Doubles trundling by 24 hours a day might also raise concerns of noise.
Added to the mix in the Purple Route is the consequence that it might have an impact on our seaplane excursions and the waterbombers who effectively used this section of river in the recent bushfires.
Equally adamant, the Orange Route folk will advise that prime agricultural land will be compromised by the penetration of lush farmland with piers every 40m, drilled to an unknown depth on acid sulphate soil that, in itself, will impact the land and adjacent marine park waterways. The Orange Route folk will also advise of the number of houses to be destroyed and the lives and livelihoods that will be impacted and they will present the fact that the Orange Route is the most expensive and will result in a 5.5km bridge 5m above the ground that will require a new bridge to be built 500m to the east of the township.
Coming to the debate are the Yellow Route folk. All they need to do to win their case is to offer up everything that is wrong with the Purple Route and the Orange Route. Adding to this is the fact that this route is the shortest and arguably the cheapest.
Since the announcement of the Moruya Bypass the township has become divided into its various tribes of Purple, orange and Yellow (with a few Green folk enjoying the tussle).
Above: "Pick me!!" "No, Me!!" The Moruya Tribes take on house colours, not knowing that the final decision was made long ago by The Faceless Ones. In June 2021 Transport for NSW told the community on their website: Thank you for having your say
We would like to thank the community for providing your feedback on the preferred strategic corridor option for the Moruya bypass.
Feedback was received between 14 May 2021 and 14 June 2021, this feedback will help inform further project development. All feedback will be considered and issues and questions raised by the community will be addressed in a consultation report.
We will undertake further investigations to inform the concept design and environmental assessment phase of the proposal.
There will be further opportunities for the community and stakeholders to provide feedback as the project progresses.
That all sounds good. All the buzz words are there that indicate further investigations and further opportunities.
But little do the community know that the further investigations and further opportunities is little more than Double Speak as we learn that Transport for NSW have been contacting land owners over the past week along the ORANGE Route and advising them that it WILL BE THE ROUTE and they had best prepare.
It what can only be described as callus, underhanded and inexcusably reprehensible Transport for NSW rang affected landowners and, having advised them of their decision over the phone then suggested that they keep the information confidential and not even discuss it with their neighbours.
Above: While Council moved to write to the NSW Government on June 22nd, 2021 suggesting a co-design committee Transport for NSW has pressed ahead to tell ORANGE Route properties of THEIR decision.
The Transport for NSW advised that the ORANGE Route was their preferred when they released their Moruya bypass Strategic Corridor options report May 2021: This is what they had to say:
Option Orange was the best-performing corridor in the goals of safety, however it is acknowledged that all roads would provide significantly improved safety compared to the existing highway. It performed well in terms of resilience because it had a lower bushfire risk associated with it. It was also seen as the most sustainable solution of the five. However, the main performance area was seen to be in terms of liveability – the distance of the preferred strategic corridor from the Moruya town-ship means that potential noise impacts are minimised and the corridor would allow for future growth of the town, while still providing connections to key destinations. It would not affect important social infrastructure such as the riverfront parks and supports existing and planned active transport networks. While the Orange corridor performed less well in terms of accessibility and connectivity, this was because it was a longer route compared to some other corridors. However, it would still improve congestion and journey reliability in Moruya, and reduce travel time on the Princes Highway. On balance, it was considered that the Orange corridor best met the project’s goals and objectives. Overall, it was ranked first in terms of meeting the values and goals.
Option Orange was by far the highest performing in terms of the liveability of Moruya, It ranked well against amenity and the potential for modal shift. While it had a moderate effect in terms of reducing traffic in the town, it did not divide the town physically. It had a moderate impact in terms of landscape and visual effect; and due to its distance from residences was able to minimise noise nuisance.
Option Orange as compared to other options had the highest performance in terms of sustainability. While it has adverse impacts in terms of terrestrial ecology, aquatic ecology, Aboriginal heritage and non-Aboriginal heritage, it performs in terms of economic sustainability and land use integration because this option does not segregate the town, it allows for future development and growth of the township and provides amenity because of its distance from the town. It would also allow connectivity to the North Moruya industrial area.
In the Moruya bypass Strategic Corridor options report May 2021 it states that the Transport for NSW Value Management Workshop "recognised that on balance, the Orange option best meets the goals and objectives of the project – safety, resilience, liveability, sustainability and connectivity and accessibility. However, it also recognised that there were risks that required additional investigation before the Orange option could be ratified and recommended as the preferred strategic corridor. Further discussions were also required with Health Infrastructure to ensure that the location of the preferred strategic corridor would support the selected site for the new Eurobodalla Health Service."
NOTE: The estimated comparative costs of the corridor options were not considered at this workshop
Inevitably, whichever route is chosen will have its cost.
For the Faceless Ones in Transport for NSW who make the final decision it will be about technical, economic, constructability, flooding, environmental impacts and risk.
What won't be added to the equation is livelihood, tenure, security, heritage, aesthetics.
What isn't mentioned is the loss of farmland, the destruction of homes and the end of livelihoods for those along the ORANGE route.
These are not faceless people. They are our community. And their peril is in the hands of the Faceless Few who have nothing to lose in where they draw their line on a map.
As for the owners who now appear to have no further say? What compensation might they look forward to?
"Transport for NSW says compensation for landowners will be guided by the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act."
