Gates re-open after Bloomfield campus roads upgraded

The long-awaited re-opening of the Huntley Road entrance to the Bloomfield hospital campus has happened after the completion of major upgrades to internal roads.

The 1.4 km road upgrade was completed by Orange City Council with $638,000 joint funding from :

• Orange City Council ($224,000)
• Orange Ex-Services ($175,000)
• Health Infrastructure ($160,000)
• Mission Australia/Cockrams ($80,000) Cockrams are currently building a new accommodation facility for Mission Australia in Huntley Road. The new facility is alongside the Huntley Road entrance.

PROJECT COMPLETE : Representatives of the project's funding partners check out the upgraded roads on the Bloomfield campus.

The roads upgrade project included upgrades of Park Road (from the first entrance gate in Forest Rd to the Ex-Services Country Club) and Transport Drive (from the Huntley Road gate to the sporting oval).

City of Orange Traffic Committee chair, Cr Russell Turner said the project was a great example of government, business and community organisations working together to deliver improved infrastructure.

“Apart from patients, hundreds of staff are working every day at both the Health Service and the Bloomfield Hospital, and this road upgrade is going to make a significant difference to the task of getting people to and from work safely and conveniently.”

“With the completion of the internal road upgrade, the long-awaited re-opening of the Huntley Road entrance can happen”, Cr Russel Turner said. “This will give another access point for hospital staff, and take the pressure off other gates on Forest Road.”

“These internal roads were never built for large traffic numbers, however the works undertaken will ensure these roads play an important ongoing role in the safe and efficient movement of traffic within the site, to the point where the Huntley Rd entrance can be re-opened safely”

OPEN AGAIN : Mayor John Davis talks with Member for Orange Phil Donato, after the Huntley Road entrance re-opened today.

Mayor John Davis has paid tribute to those who pushed for the re-opening of the Huntley Rd gate.

“When he was the state MP, now Member for Calare Andrew Gee campaigned solidly for the Huntley Rd entrance to be re-opened, along with other local residents, and the Orange community will now benefit from that work,” Cr John Davis said.

“The improvements to the internal roads balance the previously completed upgrading of the Huntley Road entrance which includes a dedicated right turn lane into the Bloomfield campus and improved visibility for motorists exiting the site.”

The internal roads on the Bloomfield campus will continue to have a 30 km/hr speed limit. The section of Park Road closest to the first Forest Road gate will be marked for one-way traffic so that cars leaving the campus will use other exits, including Huntley Road and the main Health Service entrance.

Orange Ex-Services Club CEO Cameron Provost said the project was a good example of partnership.

“Both members of the club and the wider community are regularly using the sporting facilities on the Bloomfield campus,” Cameron Provost said. “It’s great that the club can work with other organisations to deliver better long-term infrastructure.”

Western NSW Local Health District’s Director of Corporate Services, Jeff Morrissey said he was pleased that the Huntley Road works have been completed.

“The reopening of the Huntley Road will improve the traffic flow throughout the Bloomfield Campus, which will benefit patients and clients of the Orange Health Service and other providers residing on the campus,” Mr Morrissey said.

Mission Australia General Manager of Aged Care Jill Bicknell welcomed the work.

“We are proud to share in the cost of these long-term infrastructure costs,” Jill Bicknell said. “The road upgrades will enable ease of access to Mission Australia’s Benjamin Short Grove, Orange’s new aged care facility for the homeless and disadvantaged.”