West Coast group wants truck bypass

Strahan residents say homes damaged

A GROUP of Strahan residents say the volume of heavy trucks on some residential streets has caused structural damage to homes, with vibrations so strong that pictures on the walls shake when trucks pass.

The Strahan Streets Working Group is pushing for a bypass to be built in a bid to remove the trucks from residential Andrew and Harvey streets.

The group says truck movements on the two streets can reach up to 90 a day during salmon harvesting, but average about 49 per day.

A series of potholes have also emerged along sections of the Henty Main Rd, which connects to Andrew St.

Group convener Mark McDermott, who lives on the stretch of road involved, said the issue had become worse since salmon farming expanded in the harbour after 2012 because more trucks were ALEXANDRA HUMPHRIES using the roads. He said some houses had cracked walls and tiles, cracked verandas or doors that no longer closed, and the vibrations could shake pictures on the walls.

Mr McDermott said the issue was not the fault of salmon farmers or truck drivers, but was more likely due to the road not being built to withstand the pressure, having been constructed on sand on a floodplain.

Strahan Streets Working Group secretary Dianne Coon said heritage houses along the residential streets were being damaged.

Ms Coon said there were also concerns that tourists staying in the area would be woken by the trucks, most of which came from salmon farming but some from logging close to the Smith Cove aquaculture hub.

The group believes a 3km bypass connecting the hub to the Henty Highway would solve the problem by taking most of the trucks off the roads.

A State Growth spokesman said the estimated cost of a bypass between Henty Main Rd and Macquarie Heads Rd was $10 million.

He said the bypass would only take some of the heavy vehicles accessing the aquaculture hub because vehicles carrying feed and smolt would continue to use the Lyell Highway route instead.

West Coast Mayor Phil Vickers said a bypass was not high on the council’s list of priorities but the roads in question were owned by the State Government.