Hastings MP Neale Burgess wants an “urgent investigation” into the failure of level crossing boom gates at Somerville.
Mr Burgess says the boom gates at the Eramosa Rd crossing stayed down for hours, preventing traffic from crossing the line on Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 September.
“Somerville motorists had reported their frustrations with the Eramosa Rd level crossing after it was closed due to malfunctioning boom gates,” Mr Burgess said.
He said there had also been reports of other faulty boom gates at level crossings on the Stony Point line over the past 12 months. .
“The Minister for Public Transport [Jacinta Allan] needs to act immediately to get on top of this problem, investigate it and then fix it”, Mr Burgess said.
“This community relies on these boom gates for safety and to allow access to the important roads that cross the Stony Point line. It’s critical that these gates are maintained in proper working order.” He said it was a waste of police time to be called in to direct traffic away from the crossing.
“Our local police are already stretched past breaking point and they shouldn’t have to prop up state infrastructure that should have been fixed the moment a fault appeared.”
First published in the Western Port News – 20 September 2016
