THE state government has renewed its commitment to upgrade the Heathcote Road bridge over the Woronora River following the fatal accident on Tuesday.
Drew Cullen, 39, of Engadine, an off-duty Fire & Rescue NSW officer, died in the crash involving a truck and two cars, one of which he was driving. See related story.
The dangerous narrow bridge and steep approaches have been highlighted in numerous Leader reports about the state of the 24-kilometre long road.
Premier Mike Baird promised funding for the bridge at the state election last March without specifying whether the structure would be replaced, widened or improved in some other way.
He said it would be funded from the proceeds of the electricity "poles and wires" privatisation.
Roads Minister Duncan Gay expressed "my deepest condolences to Mr Cullen's family and friends for their sad and sudden loss".
"NSW Police is investigating the cause of the crash," he said.
"The state government prioritised improvement work on Woronora River bridge after I visited the site with Heathcote MP Lee Evans in mid-2012.
"We have committed to fund the work as part of the $300 million Gateway to the South pinch-point program. Planning is progressing for the improvement work; once funds are available, expected next financial year, the start of work is imminent."
A spokeswoman for Mr Gay said it still had not been been determined what form the work would take. The project, scheduled to start in 2016-17, was one of 20 listed in the Gateway to the South program.
Another project for the same section of Heathcote Road, between Princes Highway and New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights, was promised for 2015-16, but no details were given.
Mr Evans campaigned for the bridge to be widened in 2012 after a spate of accidents on various sections of Heathcote Road.
At that time, the road had claimed nine lives in the previous five years.
RMS said at the time it had no plans to widen this bridge but ‘‘committed to further review the road’s crash history to determine if any other long term road safety improvements are needed’’.
Mr Evans, said he was ‘‘deeply saddened’’ by Tuesday’s accident and expressed his condolences to Mr Cullen’s family.
‘‘I have been working towards a solution but budgetary constraints stopped it starting any earlier,’’ he said.
‘‘It is now on the radar and we are working with the RMS towards it.’’
Mr Evans said, ideally, he would like to see the present bridge duplicated.
‘‘We need an option that will make it safer without closing the road while it is done,’’ he said.
Mr Evans said a short-term measure could be to install flashing lights as a warning, especially to truck drivers.
FIVE DEATHS
Five motorists have died in the past five years on Heathcote Road between Engadine and Lucas Heights. The accidents included:
In September, 2011, a bus slammed into a rock wall after a collision with a car. The Veolia-operated bus was taking students from Engadine to Sutherland Shire Christian School at Barden Ridge. The driver of the car died at the scene, and his female passenger died later in St George Hospital. Bus driver Anita Harper broke her foot in the accident, but none of the children was injured seriously.
In December 2011, the male driver of a ute was killed on Heathcote Road at Lucas Heights.
In July 2012, a male driver, 34, died in St George Hospital after an accident on Heathcote Road, Engadine, about 7.30pm.
How should the Heathcote Road bridge over Woronora River be fixed?
