Troublesome Annie Pyers Drive at the Five Mile is undergoing a long-awaited rehabilitation after the local council received $1 million from the NSW Government for major upgrade work.
Work has commenced on one of the district’s worst roads with the $1 million upgrade of Annie Pyers Drive starting on January 27. An entry and exit point to the Dog on the Tuckerbox precinct and service centre, the well-used road takes mass heavy vehicle traffic from the Hume Highway and has long been in an appalling state. There has been a long running issue with Annie Pyers Drive since the council is responsible for the road, however the bulk of traffic on it is generated from the highway, not local traffic.
For quite some time it has been subject to negotiations between the local council and Transport for NSW over maintenance and upkeep. Funding to the tune of $1 million was announced by the State Government in August of 2022 as part of the 2022/23 Rural and Regional Roads Fund. The funding will go towards improving the current road surface. At the time of the announcement, Cootamundra-Gundagai mayor Charlie Sheahan welcomed the funding, saying he was pleased that some resolution to the state of the road had been forthcoming from the NSW Government.
“The movement of traffic, particularly the heavy vehicles that enter and exit the drive, cause a lot of damage to a road that frankly wasn’t meant to take that volume,” Cr Sheahan said. “This is a great step forward and I’m sure motorists and those who frequent Annie Pyers Drive will benefit from the upgrade.” Deputy general manager operations Matt Stubbs told councillors at January’s meeting that the upgrade is unlikely to be completed before the busy Easter break (March 29), with works having to be staggered over four stages around those busy periods.
