The future of the Altona bridge which goes over the Barossa Rail Line just north of Lyndoch remains shrouded in secrecy as the Department of Transport has refused to release design details.
Documents obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) confirm that the Altona bridge is in poor condition and at the end of its useful life, however details of the upgrade timeline remain under wraps.
The bridge is scheduled for a $6m overhaul as part of the Commonwealth Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Program and will receive $2.5m from the Federal Government and $3.5m from the State Government.
Member of Parliament, Mr Tony Piccolo lodged an FOI application following the Marshall Liberal Government’s actions to defeat the Barossa Rail Preservation Bill which sought to protect the rail line from further destruction.
Mr Piccolo who is the duty Member for Schubert and chairs the Barossa Tourist Train Taskforce chair introduced the Bill in February based on the work of the Barossa Tourist Train Taskforce.
Mr Piccolo said the Transport Minister needs to confirm whether the works will allow enough clearance for a railcar to safely pass underneath, or if the bridge will cut-off the Barossa Rail Corridor.
“I am very disappointed that the Marshall Liberal Government blocked the Bill,” said Mr Piccolo.
“The government missed an opportunity to protect the rail corridor between Gawler and Angaston.”
“Now the Barossa Rail Corridor is vulnerable to Kromer’s Crossing style of vandalism, which has cut-off Nuriootpa.”
“The line may be cut-off again at the Altona road bridge between Rowland Flat and Lyndoch.”
“This Bill would have required any development work that would block or cut-off the line to be approved by Parliament.”
“Any damage to the line will mean more taxpayer funds will be required to undo and fix these problems before the rail corridor can be operational again, potentially costing millions of dollars.”
“It is now open slather for the government to further cut-off the line under the guise of crossing upgrades. It will just delay the entire tourist train concept and make it more expensive than it needs to be,” Mr Piccolo warned.