Two truck roll-overs on the same road in three months has farmers in the Lake Cargelligo area wondering, not if, but when the inevitable fatality is going to happen.
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For more than 20 years a group of growers has been fighting tooth and nail to get freight off the road and back onto rail.
As it stands, the more than 100-year-old, 70 kilometre branch line from Ungarie to Lake Cargelligo does not meet the 25 tonne axle load limit, rendering it as a non-viable option to move freight and forcing growers to use trucks to move grain.
GrainCorp use the route to truck grain to Temora to be treated while local growers use it for trucking grain to port.
This means nearly 1000 tonne a day is traversing this road.
Peter Skipworth is one of the growers who has been campaigning for a line upgrade.
He is convinced it is only a matter of time before a tragedy occurs.
"I'm absolutely sick of this issue being ignored," he said.
"We've dodged two bullets in the past couple of months, but it really is only a matter of time before someone gets killed.
"The road is too thin for two trucks to pass each other and in some spots, it is too narrow for even a car and truck to pass.
"It is not the truckies' fault. The road is just not good enough.
"What if the accident which just occurred, happened when the school bus was passing or a family was passing?
"There is research that states for every one per cent of articulated freight which goes on rail, saves two lives.
"How can you ignore that?"
Mr Skipworth said farmers obtained an estimate for replacing the rail with the cost between $30 and $40 million.
They also found that the base and sleepers were in good condition.
"What it would cost to upgrade the line is significantly less than what it will cost for the upkeep of the road over the long term," he said.
"The cheapest way to solve this is fix the rail lines. The roads are going to take decades to fix.
"There is no commonsense in Parliament anymore. You have politicians who just want to be re-elected.
"They spend hundreds of millions of dollars in Sydney so people can go to the beach or go to work.
"The government can promise money for this, that and the other, but why not spend some money on something to help."
The government can promise money for this, that and the other, but why not spend some money on something to help.
- Peter Skipworth, Lake Cargelligo
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There may be some light at the end of the tunnel for Mr Skipworth and farmers in the area after the NSW Government, which has been in power since 2011, announced a billion-dollar funding commitment for regional roads and rail if re-elected.
The funding includes an extra $400m for the Fixing Local Roads program, as well as $300m each for new programs Fast Tracking Freight and Build Back Better.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway admitted the current freight program is not performing and some changes are needed.
"We've heard loud and clear from industry groups and freight stakeholders that the current rail program within Restart NSW Fund is not delivering the best possible outcomes," he said.
"A benefit-cost ratio (BCR) should not be the sole determinant for a project.
"If we are going to fund projects based on this assumption, then quite frankly - nothing will ever get built in the bush.
"If re-elected, the NSW Government will commit to refreshing the guidelines, removing the program from the Restart NSW Fund, and design it in a way that ensures a BCR isn't the only factor determining the outcome of a project.
"We will make it easier to get valuable and critical freight rail projects up and running so our communities can reap the benefits of this investment sooner."
The BCR was one of the issues around the Lake Cargelligo-Ungarie line not being upgraded earlier, but Mr Skipworth said it was something he couldn't understand.
"This line has more than paid for itself in the 100 years it has been in operation," he said.
"Upgrade the line and it would pay for itself again and you wouldn't need to touch it for another 50 years."
He said there would be flow-on benefits in the area if the line was bought up to standard.
"If we got the line up to 25 tonne axle load, a few of us have spoken about taking a lease agreement on the Lake Cargelligo storage site and keep our own grain," he said.
"There are four spots on the 70km line that allow for a direct load which will be a real benefit to growers.
"We're don't need to re-invent the wheel, we just need the upgrade."
