The northern Shoalhaven is about to go through a “fairly strong boom”, according to Shoalhaven City Council’s economic development officer Greg Pullen.

“I think the northern Shoalhaven is about to go through a fairly strong boom and that will rub off onto the centre and southern Shoalhaven,” he said. 

Since mid-2016 business in the Shoalhaven as been “on the up-swing”, Mr Pullen said. 

“More and more jobs are being created in this area and regionally. Different businesses and sectors are telling me that there has been an uplift,” he said. 

“The construction industry is going very well across the City, and we are now seeing major non-residential factories and those things being development.”

For the first time in 20 years, the Council is looking to expand the industrial land, Mr Pullen said. 

“Council is looking to expand and develop industrial land in Ulladulla, and hopefully open up some more industry,” he said. 

“People are investing back into their businesses and expanding, it is looking good. There is an upsurge in the Shoalhaven.

“The commercial increase creates the biggest benefit. If you look at Ulladulla 10 years ago, there was no Aldi or Woolworths.”

Meanwhile, Mr Pullen said a new Shoalhaven River crossing would allow freight to be more efficiently delivered to the region.

“A new southbound crossing would allow larger trucks with a bigger capacity to travel into Nowra,” he said. 

“That affords the industry base a more efficient transport cost and increases its viability in the national market. 

“Further south of Nowra, there probably isn’t as much of a demand for those larger trucks. However, the safety issues do kick in down south. The federal and the state government are both responsive to doing safety improvements. 

“Those improvements have been on smaller sections, rather than larger sections, as in Gerringong to Bomaderry and the Termeil Creek Bridge.”

However, Mr Pullen believed higher priority for safety upgrades would go to routes with more frequent freight movements over the Princes Highway.

“It is accepted that the main freight route between Sydney and Melbourne is the Hume Highway, not the Princes Highway,” he said. 

“The Princes Highway carries freight that goes between centres on the Princes Highway, or it connects back onto other highways.

“There are industries up and down the coast that relate to Sydney, and some of those use the Princes Highway, others cut up into the Tablelands and go into Sydney the back way.”

Mr Pullen said Ulladulla, Nowra and Mogo bypasses were important for not only the traveling public, but for freight.

“As we know, at peak seasons some of those critical nodes grind to a halt,” he said. 

“I was pleased to see in the Federal Budget that there is funding for roads of strategic importance. We will be looking at that closely to lobby for connectivity across the escarpment so we can access the Hume Highway a lot easier. 

“I expect them to want to spend money on roads carrying freight and you will have to justify that. We will look at having the Princes Highway listed as a road of significant importance under that, but it will have to be a broader region approach.”