Re: Hume Highway bypass for Albury. And bypassing Wodonga Rail!

["Rod" <comtrain@mpx.com.au>]

Maurie Daly <mauried@commslab.gov.au> wrote in message
mauried.475.38322CD1@commslab.gov.au">news:mauried.475.38322CD1@commslab.gov.au...
> It seems from info from DOTs Web Site that the internal option for the
bypass
> has been chosen.
> Due to start in mid 2000, AKAIK this option will require that most of what
is
> now Albury Rail yards will dissapear to make way for the new freeway.
> The 4 lane freeway will continue on from where the current end is now in
> Wodonga, cross the Murray on a new bridge , (presumably on the east side
of
> the rail line ) and follow the line thru the middle of town to Ettamogah
where
> the existing freeway ends.
> Anyone know precisely where the road / rail crossings will be ?
>
> MD

Actually Maurie, I visited the Display they have set up for the Public in
Albury, we are still going through the notice of "Intentions stage" and
objections are still being invited.
The model they have built to show the Public what is to happen does not show
the turntable or the old [fibro-cement] car shed, but it does show that 10
and 11 roads are still in place, as well the Turntable area is not intruded
upon. Very little track will be lost due to the Freeway, although a fair bit
might be removed as redundant.
As an aside, the turntable is being renovated by State Rail at the moment.
New Sleepers are being installed, grease and oil change etc.

I have lived in or been closely associated with Albury Wodonga for 30 years,
and I am highly scheptical about this Freeway! They have been talking about
it long before Bolte proposed roofing over Flinders Street Station! I really
think it is a lot of Bullshit, and the business people in this town will
never give up...they want the traffic to go through! They are now one of the
few towns not bypassed.
Every six months or so, we get front page headlines about the need to remove
rail from Wodonga. The Liberal Border Mail ran the story again yesterday,
crowing it will employ 2000
people and allow the business district to Centralise and Big Shopping
concerns to move into Wodonga saving 20 millions being spent iun Albury each
year....lot of crap[pun intended Mr.Shire President Crapp], it will make
Weatherall and a few wealthy Solicitors very rich, and the rail will be
reduced to SG only, with out Passenger facilities in Wodonga. National know
this also, as they are not replacing Drivers as they retire, just working
more Melbourne Crews into the job. By the way we heard the exact same
garbage in the 80's when they were moving the Cattle yards out to Bandianna,
they tore it all down, and it has been a vacant paddock ever since. VicRail
never moved another live stock train out of here again.
Rod