Roads minister Jenny Aitchison to consult with Wagga leaders on Marshalls Creek, Gobbagombalin bridges

The recently-minted minister for regional transport and roads said she has spoken with Dr McGirr and Labor councillor Dan Hayes about the project, and understands members of the community feel the previous consultation process was inadequate.

Campaigns to widen the Marshalls Creek Bridge - which reduces the Sturt Highway from two lanes to one in each direction at East Wagga - began eight years ago, when residents and commuters flagged the notorious bottleneck was inevitably going to result in accidents as merging traffic increased.

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Then NSW Roads, Maritime and Freight Minister Melinda Pavey announced government plans to widen the bridge during the campaign for the 2018 Wagga byelection, alongside Liberal candidate Julia Ham.

Since, the project timeline has been adjusted to account for what Transport for NSW said were delays in the planning and approvals process.

Transport for recently said NSW said the former coalition government had cancelled the planned works to prioritise improving the intersections of the Olympic Highway with Travers Street and Old Narrandera Road on the other side of the city centre, drawing criticism from local leaders and residents.

Minister Aitchison said in her first eight weeks as minister, she had been meeting with local MPs concerning what she describes as "the mess left by the former Liberals and Nationals Government across the state's regional road network."

"Since coming to office I've had ongoing discussions with the Member for Wagga Joe McGirr, and Councillor Dan Hayes who have been on the front foot advocating for the Wagga community," she said.

"They have both raised important local issues with me regarding the road network in Wagga, including work on the Olympic Highway and widening of bridges.

"I'll be in the region in coming weeks to meet with Dr McGirr, Cr Hayes and other councillors, and other stakeholders so I can spend time on the ground better understanding these local issues. It is important to listen to the views of communities in regional NSW after they were largely ignored by the former government."

Wagga-based MLC Wes Fang said Labor were learning in government they couldn't ignore regional Australia.

"The pressure I've been applying to Labor about the delivery of infrastructure is clearly playing dividends," he said.

"We've seen this week Labor cutting numerous programs that we implemented in government implemented, such as the regional student and apprentice travel card.

"The government is realising quite quickly that rural and regional communities will not accept being second class citizens."

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