With experience as a civil engineer who's worked on the western section of the M4 tollway and designed the intersection at the Sutton Forest service centres, Rob Parker knows a thing or two about road design.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A plan to use Kirkham Road as a bypass to Station Street was identified earlier this month by Friends of Bowral.
The plan would involve a roundabout in front of the Bowral Brickworks site and a new bridge to connect Kirkham Road to Funston Street.
Read also: Multi dwelling development gets green light
However according to Mr Parker, that plan is not possible.
"I went to the site and had a good look and whether someone could make this work and there's no way," he said.
"The reason you can't make it work is that if you went to the existing overbridge on Kirkham Road, each side rises 140 metres to get cars high enough over the railway line.
"Australian Rail Track Corporation now requires six-metre clearance for double-height trains and a ramp to get up and over into Bowral would probably be up to 200 to 250 metres in length each side and that's to meet normal speed limits."
Mr Parker said the road design and ramp length were speed-dependent and could be quite steep in urban areas.
"I also looked at whether you could place a roundabout at Bowral Brickworks and come across at a 90 degree angle across the railway track on to Funston Street," Mr Parker said.
"But it would affect the properties on Funston Street and that's not going to happen.
"If you do go ahead on the diagonal, there would be deep excavation of the old brick quarry that would prevent you from doing that.
"You would also need a major intersection where Kirkham Road joins Mittagong Road and you would need to redesign Kirkham Road and put a new bridge over Mittagong Rivulet because it's only a two-lane bridge.
"The whole thing doesn't work. It's unfortunate because I would like to see it work."
Mr Parker also believes that the Station Street upgrade project is a failure as it doesn't cater to cyclists and sees hope for a different type of bypass.
"It doesn't make proper provisions for cyclists to properly access the CBD of Bowral and that's a major disappointment," he said.
"In terms of bypasses for Bowral, I know the council have the right intentions and would like to make it work.
"But it's a very difficult, difficult problem. I haven't spoken to council about it but I'm sure they've looked at all these options.
"The only way I can see it happening is to fix up range road and come from Mittagong and bypass the entire area."
Did you know the Southern Highland News is now offering breaking news alerts and a weekly email newsletter? Keep up-to-date with all the local news: sign up below.
Vera Demertzis
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
