![Riverina Highway Patrol's Sergeant Hannah Bloomfield with Wagga City Council director of strategy and projects Phil McMurray and Excell Gray Bruni area manager Justin Porganyi at the Olympic Highway end of Dunns Road. Picture by Taylor Dodge Riverina Highway Patrol's Sergeant Hannah Bloomfield with Wagga City Council director of strategy and projects Phil McMurray and Excell Gray Bruni area manager Justin Porganyi at the Olympic Highway end of Dunns Road. Picture by Taylor Dodge](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/JEQDf2CFmqVGDcvEsZPwEY/31f95d02-cca1-4974-92b2-7cd6540acc83.JPG/r0_0_3696_2448_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Wagga City Council has been forced to completely block access at one end of Dunns Road amid escalating safety risks posed by rulebreakers wreaking havoc in the roadworks zone.
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Motorists blatantly disregarding road closed signs and driving through the construction site, including one who had a close call with heavy machinery, has prompted the installation of concrete bollards near the Olympic Highway intersection as the council cracks down on driver non-compliance.
Dunns Road was closed to all through traffic between Kunzea Place and the highway when construction work on a multimillion-dollar upgrade began in June. However, residents living along the section of road still had access from both the eastern (Holbrook Road) and western (Olympic Highway) ends.
Residents will now only be able to access their Dunns Road properties via Holbrook Road until works are finished. The upgrade is expected to be completed in December.
The council's director of strategy and projects, Phil McMurray, said the hard closure had been put in place as a direct response to escalating safety issues posed by drivers' "self-entitled behaviour" that was "putting the lives of our construction crews of risk".
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"People are coming through the road closed signs, coming through at speeds and disobeying directions," Mr McMurray said.
"The construction site has evolved into a high-risk zone due to the presence of heavy machinery and large trucks operating within close proximity.
"This kind of self-entitled behaviour by these motorists jeopardises not only their own safety but that of the construction crew."
![Riverina Highway Patrol's Sergeant Hannah Bloomfield with Wagga City Council director of strategy and projects Phil McMurray and Excell Gray Bruni area manager Justin Porganyi are fed-up with drivers disobeying the road rules. Picture by Taylor Dodge Riverina Highway Patrol's Sergeant Hannah Bloomfield with Wagga City Council director of strategy and projects Phil McMurray and Excell Gray Bruni area manager Justin Porganyi are fed-up with drivers disobeying the road rules. Picture by Taylor Dodge](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/JEQDf2CFmqVGDcvEsZPwEY/42474fee-c97d-4ede-9226-d74413ad298b.JPG/r0_0_3696_2448_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Construction site supervisor Justin Porganyi, from project contractor Excell Gray Bruni, said there had been an alarming spike in motorists ignoring the road closures and "recklessly speeding" along the road in recent weeks.
Mr Porgany said motorists were putting themselves and the workers' lives at risk.
"There was one incident where the car was in pursuit, I believe, in a runaway car and certainly came in between two machines, it was a close call," he said.
"This is clearly dangerous behaviour with heavy machinery and workers on the road.
"While road closures might be inconvenient; they are essential safety measures to protect the lives of both our dedicated construction workers and the public.
"Every member of our team is someone's parent, sibling, spouse, or child - their safety matters and we all have a role to play in ensuring they return home safely each day."
Dunns Road has become a popular shortcut for people heading into Wagga from the south and drivers who fail to comply with the road closed signs face big consequences, including fines and a loss of licence.
Sergeant Hannah Bloomfield from Riverina Highway Patrol said police were aware of rulebreakers and have ramped up patrols in the area.
"We have significant concerns around the safety of the crews working on the site and we've identified several incidents of non-compliance," Sergeant Bloomfield said.
![Concrete barriers in place as part of a hard closure of Dunns Road at the Olympic Highway. Picture by Taylor Dodge Concrete barriers in place as part of a hard closure of Dunns Road at the Olympic Highway. Picture by Taylor Dodge](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/JEQDf2CFmqVGDcvEsZPwEY/53c29f1c-311c-46ad-8a99-261d7b220f80.JPG/r0_0_3696_2448_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Police will be maintaining a high presence ... whilst the road is closed to make sure people are obeying the road closures that are in place
"Non-compliance will be dealt with via a penalty, which begins at $594 for disobeying a traffic controller.
"We have had issues with people speeding through the zone and disobeying directions of traffic controllers.
"They're obviously putting both themselves and workers at risk, but as far as enforcement penalties go they are also facing suspension.
"There are some big risks of accidents if they were to impact with any of the machinery or any of the workers reversing across the actual zone itself."
Mr McMurray said the upgrade project, which will see the current stretch of gravel road sealed and involves intersection upgrades at both ends, was progressing well due to the run of good weather in recent months.
About 400 B-double truckloads of road base have been delivered and applied across the section of unsealed road and the process of sealing will start soon.
The council and the contractor are working with Transport for NSW to finalise arrangements for the next stage of the project, which will involve the creation of new intersection at the Dunns Road and Olympic Highway intersection. A roundabout has been proposed at the Holbrook Road-Dunns Road junction.
The $8.3 million project is jointly funded by the federal government ($5.3 million) and Wagga Wagga City Council ($2.5 million).
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