Fifty people attended a meeting last week at the bridge, outlining their support for the change.

The bridge was decribed as a “thorn in the side for the western community” by Mayor Brenton Vanstone.

Carrier and spokesman for an action committee for the bridge Darren Button said Wandearah Road was part of a commodity route.

“It is a bottle-neck around harvest time,” he said.

“It has gone from being almost a back road to being almost our

arterial road now.”

He said the bridge could be used for B-doubles, but not for transporting reasonably-sized farm machinery.

“We have to find our way through Merriton,” he said. “I hope someone takes notice and makes a pledge with elections coming up.”

Wandearah farmer, chairman of the Advisory Board of Agriculture and president of the South Australian Agricultural Bureau Neville Ferme said the bridge had long been a concern.

“Commodity routes are the main thing agriculture needs,” he said.

“We need safe roads and good infrastructure.”

He said the road was a primary route for farmers.

“Most of our services are on the eastern side,” he said. “It is an important route for transporting commodities as well as accessing services.”

Carrier Bernie Noonan said he used the bridge quite a lot.

“Every harvest, from October through to January, we get a lot of trucks and the odd farm machinery,” he said.

“I see the need for two lanes, especially for safety concerns.”

Independent Member for Frome Geoff Brock grew up in the Wandearah area.

“I am passionate about the area,” he said.

He described the bridge as being too narrow and said two lanes would help move farm machinery from side to side.

“We could get stock to the proposed camel abattoir,” he said.

“The bridge could open another avenue of employment.”

He will call on the State Govern-ment and Opposition for their backing.

Liberal candidate for Frome Terry Boylan said it would be “good to say our party can help out”.

“We do have a Regional Develop-ment Infrastructure Fund,” he said.

He said the fund was suitable to help solve their concerns.

“I would like to be able to commit to something,” he said.

“It is difficult without costings and I do not have an open-ended cheque book.”