WITH works currently underway on the Balaclava and Verney Road roundabout, local resident, John Meola took some time to speak with The Adviser about his involvement in building the original roundabout, which was the first ever to be built in Shepparton.
In 1977, John and the late Desmond Lynch took on the mammoth task of installing the roundabout, which replaced a bridge over a channel, with Desmond on the grader and John taking the jobs of roller driver and water truck driver. But the pair ran into some issues, which meant the job took 17 weeks in total to complete.
John said, “When they started digging the roundabout out, they found a pipe which started leaking water, so we had to put a stabiliser in to stop the pipes from sinking. It also rained every day during construction.
“Things are done very differently today, but I had fun working on it.”
Having spent 21 years working for council, John is no stranger to our local roads and can pinpoint where drainage pipes are on many roads as he worked on them all including Wheeler Street, Drummond Road, Quinan Parade, The Boulevard from Knight Street to Kittles Road, Ford Road, Hawkins Street, Corio Street from Nixon Street to Maude Street, Skene Street and more. He was also part of the team that installed the original brick footpaths at the International Village.
