THE Upper House of NSW Parliament will conduct an inquiry into the Windsor Bridge Replacement Project, and investigate ‘the options presented to the community; and the economic, social, and heritage impacts of the proposal.’
It is not clear at this stage whether this will halt, temporarily or permanently, the Windsor Bridge Replacement Project at this stage.
The inquiry was announced on November 16, and it is due to report back by June, 2018.
The inquiry will be headed up by Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party MLC Robert Brown.
The Labor Party’s Mick Veitch will be the deputy chair, and will be joined by fellow Labor MLC Daniel Mookhey, as well as Liberal MLC Scot MacDonald, Nationals MLCs Rick Colless and Wes Fang and Greens MLC Mehreen Fahruqi.
Submissions to the inquiry will be accepted until January 28.
The brief for inquiry is to ‘[...inquire into and report on the expenditure, performance and effectiveness of the Roads and Maritime Services’ Windsor Bridge Replacement Project.’
The inquiry will focus on the current Windsor Bridge maintenance regime, renovation methods and justification for the demolition.
It will also focus on the replacement project, specifically:
- Options presented to the community;
- Post construction strategic outcomes, including traffic benefits, transport and network service capacity;
- Economic, social and heritage impacts;
- Flood immunity benefits;
- Project assessment process;
- Planning and procurement strategies and associated project costs;
- Cost benefit analysis process.