Routing the Hume Highway bypass through Albury split the city as much metaphorically as it would do physically.

Decades of debate over whether the city should be bypassed to the west or a freeway corridor be built alongside the railway culminated with opening of the internal route in March 2007.

Member for Farrer Sussan Ley recalls how signs sprung up on posts stating “Albury’s getting Leyed a most unwanted route” after she backed the internal option.

“There’s never been an issue I’ve found as challenging as this one anywhere in the electorate, because it was so incredibly divisive,” she said.

“Perhaps the easiest thing to do would have been sitting on the fence and I couldn’t sit on the fence.”

Ms Ley dismissed the external route because it would have been a two-lane road with a large volume of trucks still travelling through the Albury streets forming the Hume Highway.

The main warrior against the internal freeway was Claire Douglas who headed lobby group Save Our City and became an Albury councillor after nearly taking the NSW seat of Albury from the Liberal Party in March 1999.

She argued the internal freeway was poor planning and its traffic would be a health and safety risk.

“I still know it wasn’t the right decision, but I’m not bitter and twisted about it and don’t not use it,” Mrs Douglas said.

“They always said they might do an external freeway later but that’s a ridiculous concept.

“There’s so many other places that would be looked at, there’s no possibility of anything else happening.”

Mrs Douglas, who now sells her own cordial nationally and overseas, views the road row with some warmth.

“It was the first time that Albury people had really got together and fought something in a city-type of way,” she said.

“There were protests and marching in the streets and people felt quite empowered and it pulled people together who might not have done such a thing.

“It was part of the growing up of Albury, it showed you don’t have to put up with something, you can make a fuss. We gave it a really good crack and I think people are happy we did.”

But Ms Ley has no doubt the freeway has been a gain for Albury and Wodonga.

“I believe it’s completely accepted and makes sense,” she said.

“I think the road has brought the community together because people use it.

“Imagine if we had not got the road, we would have a far more crowded Lincoln Causeway and that would have pushed the community apart.”