Vic Roads are appealing for the general public’s help to finish the Napier Street roadworks while the road workers are on their Christmas holidays.
Dominic Scrimley from VicRoads said “We’re running a working bee for the next 2 weeks while our hard-working civil engineers, road workers and Lolly Pop traffic controllers take a well-earned break.”
Mr Scrimley said “Bring a shovel and pick so we can all pitch in and finish digging up Napier street. We’re all in this together.” He is excited to have the community to come together. “The roadworks are supposed to be completed by 2024 but If we all do our part we can have it done by next week.” He said
But not everyone believes this is a good idea. Jason McMonty from Huntly said “First the supermarkets wanted us to work for them and scan our own groceries, now the council want us to fix our own road so we can drive on it.” Claire Morton from Eaglehawk said “There are way too many roadworks in Bendigo. If the city loves their roadworks so much why don’t they marry it?”
Bendigo Mayor Margaret O’Rourke believes that helping build this road is helping to build the community. “Imagine how good it will feel to drive over that part of the road you helped construct. You can tell your friends and family ‘I helped put dig that part of the road outside of the fish and chips shop’, or ‘I held that stop sign while I let my son drive a steamroller outside of the school.” she said.
But you can’t have a working bee without food. A spokesperson from The Bendigo Council said: “We’re providing a BBQ to the hard-working volunteers who have cancelled their family holidays.” The BBQ will be cooked by Bendigo’s own Bryan ‘Cogho’ Coghlan and Masterchef’s George Columbaris.
The working bee is on from today till whenever the road gets finished.