The Nowra bridge crossing is “the next area that needs to be resolved” on the road to the South Coast, according to Kiama MP Gareth Ward.
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With upgrades to the Princes Highway likely to make it easier for people to get to Nowra faster, there’s a chance the bridges will become more of a pinch point than they already are.
“Getting into Nowra now, if you're coming from Bomaderry, if you don’t leave home before quarter past eight, you can suffer significant delays in peak hour,” Mr Ward said.
“When you live in a regional area you don’t expect the sort of traffic volumes that you get in that area.”
Mr Ward said his aim was to improve the river crossing before it becomes more of an issue.
“I’m pushing for it now, that’s why you’ve seen $12 million allocated for planning work to select a preferred option and look at traffic connectivity,” he said.
“I’ve continued to prosecute that case and have done so alongside my federal colleague. I thank her and commend her for securing funds for the planning work across the Shoalhaven River bridge.
“Without those funds we would not have been able to progress that project as quickly as we have done.”
That federal colleague is Ann Sudmalis, whom Mr Ward does not see eye to eye with on another matter – federal funding for the Berry to Bomaderry Princes Highway upgrade.
Mrs Sudmalis launched a stinging rebuke at the NSW government over its repeated calls for federal funding for the upgrade saying the “state government had not done the background work required to make federal funding possible.”
It’s a fact Mr Ward has strongly refuted and he has gone over her head and written to the Prime Minister about the funding issue.
In his letter Mr Ward states the government has committed a record $1.5 billion to deliver Princes Highway upgrades and other works.
“As it stands, the federal government has not yet made a contribution towards these works,” he wrote.