While the recent opening of the Gawler East Link Road has been welcomed by some in the town, there is a group of residents who are angry at the way they have been treated by the Marshall Liberal Government.
Some residents whose properties are adjacent to the new road argue that a number of promises made by the State Government to address their grievances have been met with a stone wall.
The residents feel they have been abandoned by both the State Government and the Gawler Council as each agency plays “pass the buck” with their outstanding issues.
Residents recently sought the assistance of local Member of Parliament, Mr Tony Piccolo to pursue their issues with the State Government.
Mr Piccolo said he met with residents onsite to gain a better understanding of the issues that remain unresolved.
“These residents have put up with dust, noise and other inconveniences during the construction period, and for the Government to now disregard them is just appalling,” said Mr Piccolo.
“The residents were led to believe a range of services would be made available to them to rid their homes, air conditioners and the like, of dust and other materials associated with the road construction, have not been delivered.”
“Post construction tests to measure any damage to people’s homes have also not been undertaken.”
“Because of the height of the road, concerns about backyard privacy have also been raised.”
Some residents have also complained about the noise coming from trucks that use air brakes, while the 50 km/hr speed limit has generated a great deal of negative feedback.
“Sadly, it also appears Council has also not advocated on residents’ behalf.”
“To add insult to injury, the affected residents were also not invited to the official opening of the road which was cloaked in an unusually high level of secrecy.”
“Having put up with over twelve months of disruption to their lives, you would think the State Government or Council might have thought it would have been the decent and courteous thing to invite the residents to the official opening.”
Mr Piccolo said he is in the process of following the matters up with the Minister for Transport, to see if a satisfactory outcome can be achieved for affected residents.