MOTORISTS are urged to turn on their headlights when travelling on Heathcote Road to send ‘‘a clear signal’’ that safety measures need to be implemented before Christmas.
Former intensive care ambulance paramedic Pat Kennedy and firefighter Paul Drayton said the message was directed at Heathcote MP Lee Evans and Roads Minister Duncan Gay.
Calls for action followed the death of off-duty firefighter Drew Cullen, 39, of Engadine, in an accident on the Woronora River bridge in August.
After an extensive investigation, police last week laid charges against the driver of the truck involved in the crash.
The Yagoona man, 42, was charged with dangerous driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning death and driving with an illicit substance in his blood.
He was ordered to appear in Sutherland Local Court on December 7.
Mr Kennedy said Mr Evans had advised him the Centre for Road Safety was looking at what could be done. He urged residents to tell officials what measures should be taken.
"What we need, as a matter of urgency, is to cut the speed limit and install at least two fixed speed cameras between Princes Highway and New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights," Mr Kennedy said.
"People have been dying on this road since I became a paramedic in the 1970s and nothing has been done."
Mr Kennedy said he agreed with Mr Evans that every possible step should be taken to make the bridge as safe as possible until a major upgrade takes place.
Funding has been earmarked for 2016-17.
Mr Drayton said the road surface on both approaches to the bridge remained uneven and motorists felt a jolt as they drove onto the bridge.
He said the only change he could see in the area since the accident in August was the replacement of a roadside sign that cautioned ‘‘Slow Down’’ with another that said ‘‘Police Enforcing Road Safety’’.
‘‘Changing a sign will not make people slow down but speed cameras will,’’ he said.
STUDY NEEDED
Lee Evans said he had since been advised a ‘‘preliminary environmental impact study’’ would be carried out on the road corridor at the eastern end of Heathcote Road.
He said the study would take about 12 months, by which time the findings of the coronial inquest into Mr Cullen’s death were expected to be known and any recommendations could be included.
Mr Evans said duplication of the bridge would require removal of sandstone and some trees and the presence of a rare species in the area complicated the matter.
He said some maintenance had been carried out since the fatal accident, including ‘‘road smoothing’’, with new bitumen laid, and the cutting back of trees next to the road to provide better vision for motorists
Mr Evans said the Centre for Road Safety was monitoring the speed of vehicles on the bridge and highway patrol police were targeting the area.
Long wait for action
DUPLICATING the Woronora River bridge at Engadine might not be completed until next decade if a much simpler project further west on Heathcote Road is any guide.
The $19 million bridge over Deadmans Creek at Sandy Point, which opened to traffic at the end of October, was promised by the Liberals before the 2011 state election.
It is wider than the old structure, which was built during World War II, but still has only one lane in each direction.
Roads and Maritime Services considered building a dual carriageway but said it was ‘‘not deemed viable due to existing infrastructure and environmental constraints’’.
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