Desperate business owners are fighting to stay afloat after a major Lismore street turned to a road to nowhere when it was partially closed due to an old railway bridge.
After rebuilding from devastating floods two years ago, dozens of shops on Terania Street have re-opened and some have even expanded.
But despite being a major thoroughfare which links Lismore’s CBD and neighbouring towns, no one is visiting the street on account of a 130-year-old heritage listed railway bridge that runs above it.
The ordeal began in September last year, when a spate of crashes into the bridge forced road closures on three separate occasions.
The most recent closure has been ongoing since February.
Pet groomer Janet Goodwin just got back on her feet after losing everything in the 2022 floods.
“We were on our roof for six hours with our six dogs and it was pouring down with rain, the wind was coming through about 90km/h and we finally got rescued by a local person in a tinny,” Goodwin recalled.
She said the road closure is killing her business.
“It’s a dead street. We can walk outside and literally sit in the road and not see a car for hours,” Goodwin said.
“It’s just breaking us, coming in every day and finding no customers coming in.
“Emotionally and yeah, financially, it really is. I’m not sure how much longer we can keep going.”
Fellow business owner Brad Baker said he was down about $300,000 on turnover over the last four months.
Lismore Mayor Steve Krieg has been lobbying to fast-track the removal of the rail bridge but said the heritage listing is causing delays.
“As we can all see, it hasn’t been used for decades by a train. There’s no purpose or reason for it to be here,” he said.
“We really need people from the state government to get up here, understand the problem, talk to these people, come in and see the real impacts.”
Sharon Madden from Liberty service station said 90 per cent of the business’ trade came from passing traffic.
“It’s like been four months now, we’re heading into the fifth month,” she said.
“I don’t know how long we can put up with this.”
A Current Affair reached out to Transport for NSW, which said reopening Terania Street to traffic was a “high priority”.
“The installation of traffic calming methods throughout June is designed to allow us to open the road so locals can use the underpass safely and further strikes on the bridge are prevented,” a spokesperson said.
“The completion of the Heritage Council’s consent conditions to remove the bridge, planning approvals. .. along with the demolition plan, are expected to take several months to complete.”
A Current Affair understands demolition is expected to take place in September.
FULL TRANSPORT FOR NSW STATEMENT
Transport for NSW empathises with businesses affected by the ongoing issues caused by damage to the rail over road bridge on Terania Street in Lismore.
We have been working with Heritage NSW since September 2023 to expedite removal of the bridge over Terania Street following ongoing damage from vehicle strikes with the structure.
Reopening Terania Street to traffic is a high priority for Transport. The installation of traffic calming methods throughout June is designed to allow us to open the road so locals can use the underpass safely and further strikes on the bridge are prevented.
Work will continue on planning for the demolition of the bridge during this period.
The completion of the Heritage Council’s consent conditions to remove the bridge, planning approvals such as the REF, along with the demolition plan, are expected to take several months to complete.