Major safety upgrades will be completed on the Princes Highway south of Nowra following a multi-million dollar spend by the state government.
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More than $10 million will be spent on resurfacing the highway between Tomerong and Batemans Bay and installing a roundabout, roadside barriers, alignment upgrades, improved lighting and audio-tactile line markings.
South Coast MP Shelley Hancock revealed exclusively to Fairfax Media on Tuesday, June 12, the funding would be handed down in the NSW Government’s June 19 budget.
This follows the launch of Fairfax Media’s FIX IT NOW campaign in March 2018, which calls on the state and federal governments to commit to 80/20 funding of major safety upgrades to the Princes Highway.
Between December 2017 and June 2018, eight people have lost their lives on the road south of Nowra. The state government’s funding will address accident prone areas of the highway.
The Island Point Road intersection will be one of the crash hot spots addressed by the funding, with a roundabout set to be installed at the location. Traffic calming, line marking, signage and increased lighting will also be placed at the intersection.
A two-kilometre section of the highway south of Wandean Road, Wandandian, will see new curve and advisory speed signs, curve alignment markers, audio-tactile line marking and sealed shoulders.
Meanwhile, a high-level non-skid surface will be installed at The Wool Road intersection at Tomerong. The shoulder of the highway will also be widened at the location.
At Termeil, a 600-metre section of the Princes Highway, south of Mile Peg Road, will have a wire-beam barrier constructed on the roadside, as well as new curve and advisory speed signs, curve alignment markers, and a high-level non-skid surface.
More audio-tactile line marking, roadside barriers and sealed shoulders will be added to the highway from Bawley Point to Batemans Bay. Wide centreline treatments will also be placed on the highway.
Mrs Hancock said motorists could expect the work to commence in the “near future”, adding future upgrades were in the pipeline.
“This is about improving safety on the Princes Highway now, while we work together to plan for a major upgrade of this important road from south of Nowra to the Victorian boarder,” she said.
“Too many lives have been taken on the Princes Highway, with eight lives lost between December 2017 and June 2018.
“The Berejiklian Government is committed to improving safety on the Princes Highway and this significant investment recognises the need to commence work on the most precarious sections of the highway immediately.”
Mrs Hancock was pleased the Island Point Road intersection was being improved, saying it was “notorious”.
The funding is on top of the more than $3 million spent by the NSW Government to complete safety upgrades on the highway at Kendall’s Cutting, Milton, the Log Cabin, Tomerong, near Meroo Road, Termeil Creek, between Mile Peg Road and Cockwhy Creek, at Stony Hill Lane, Milton and near Monkey Mountain Road, Termeil.
Lobbying for 80/20 funding between the federal and state governments would remain a priority for Mrs Hancock.
“I and the Berejiklian Government are committed to delivering a safe and better Princes Highway. This is the first step, as we continue to lobby for an essential 80/20 funding split between the Commonwealth and State governments in order to deliver the Princes Highway that the community expect and deserve,” she said.
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Emily Barton
Emily Barton is a Producer at The Canberra Times.
Emily Barton is a Producer at The Canberra Times.
