On Tuesday night, Shoalhaven City Council Strategy and Assets committee meeting delegates agreed the Roads and Maritime Service’s plans for intersections near the new Shoalhaven River bridge did not meet the needs of the community.
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All in attendance voted in favour of the recommendation, stipulating council’s general manager will submit a report to the RMS, outlining council’s issues with the plans.
Scroll to the bottom of the article for the recommendation in full.
Councillor Greg Watson said he was certain the state government would not fund flyovers on the Princes Highway from Bolong Road to Bridge Road as part of the Shoalhaven Bridge project.
“If you think you have any chance of getting grade separation, keep putting the cup out for the tooth fairy to come ’cause it ain’t going to happen,” he said.
“The reality is, I was a bit reluctant to keep on supporting that issue because we know full well RMS staff aren’t going to agree with it, and they may well dismiss all the other issues we put forward because we’re going on with fairyland stuff.
“The project cannot afford the graded intersection, anyone with a brain knows that. You can ask for it but they ruled it out.”
Cr Watson views advocacy for grade separation on Bolong Road and Bridge Road as a priority, but is conscious of taking the most prudent approach.
“It needs to be clear, it needs to stand on its own, and it needs not to be mixed up with something they could put the red marker through straight away,” he said.
He praised councillors for supporting the motion, and slammed the RMS for scrapping plans to link Hawthorn Avenue, Nowra, to the Princes Highway.
Cr Watson fears businesses and about 1000 residents based on the eastern side of the highway and on the southern side of the Shoalhaven River will be seriously inconvenienced if RMS plans aren’t updated.
RMS plans include scrapping the Bridge Road lights, forcing motorists who want to get back on the Princes Highway to use the already-buckling Moss Street intersection.
“I’m pleased with the overall support of councillors on this issue,” Cr Watson said.
“I’ve been banging on about it for a month or so, I know there are a lot of community issues, but we can not allow the RMS to get away with what they’ve pulled on this.
“It’s an absolute disgrace that they would float the design and then pull the rug out from under our community because one person put a submission in, one person said they didn’t want those lights.”
Councillor Mitchell Pakes said the bypass was not the most pressing traffic concern for northern and central Shoalhaven community members – the Princes Highway was.
“Whether you like it or not if you live in Greenwell Point, Culburra, Worrigee, St Georges Basin, you’re not going to jump on the bypass to get into Stockland (Nowra) to do some shopping,” he said.
“That road (Princes Highway) must be maintained because it’s the main arterial road for our city.
“The issue we are going to face as a council is (with bridge upgrades) we’re moving the pinch point just a little further south; it’s going move the issue down the highway unless we address it now.
“There’s going to be so much disruption to the city during the building on the bridge, and the community will be happy to wear a bit of disruption if it fixes the problem.
“I’m telling you now, if our community has to put up with three or four years of disruption, the ribbon’s cut on the bridge and all of a sudden they’re not queuing on the northern side of the bridge but the southern side, they’re not going to be happy and rightly so.
“They’ll be happy to endure a bit of disruption if there’s going to be a benefit, not just to have a new, shiny bridge.”
MAP OF AREA SUBJECT TO DISCUSSION ON TUESDAY NIGHT
Councillor Bob Proudfoot urged councillors to continue advocating for highway funding now bridge funding has been approved.
He believes time is nigh to advocate for highway upgrades from Nowra to South Nowra.
“The traffic is increasing at 7 per cent per year, but it’s already at crisis point now, especially coming up to the Archer Hotel,” he said.
“If we just say, good, we’ll have a nice new bridge in six years, then the RMS starts thinking about three lanes each way (along the Princes Highway) then, it’s no good. We need to start thinking about it now, the Princes Highway has to be augmented in that section, it affects not just tourists, it affects our residents.
“It’s a major impact zone for the citizens of our city, and it will get worse.
“We just can’t think, ‘All good, we’ve got some money for the bridge,’ the upgrade of the highway is just as important. We need to start pushing for it now.
“We need to push our state members, even our federal member.
“It’s amazing what can happen before an election, we need to ask the questions and get this on the agenda.”
Motion passed unanimously at the Strategy and Assets committee meeting on Tuesday night.
Recommendation:
The Council authorise the General Manager to:
1. Make a submission to the Roads and Maritime Services on behalf of Council in relation to the RMS proposal to construct an additional bridge crossing of the Shoalhaven River immediately west of the crossing that currently connects Bomaderry to Nowra. The submission is to cover the matters contained within this report and specifically highlight the following:
a. Council is adamant that its preferred option is for grade separated intersections and does not support at grade treatments;
b. There is likely to be significant upstream and downstream impacts following construction of the Nowra bridge project. The bridge project, in conjunction with the Berry to Bomaderry upgrade, will bring forward the need to extend 3 lanes of traffic in each direction continuous through Bomaderry and South Nowra;
c. With regards to urban design, Council requests that the RMS urban design team agrees to a plan and process that involves Council staff in the urban design to ensure integration between the Nowra Bridge project and the Council’s river foreshore masterplan;
d. Opportunities exist for RMS residual assets that may have the potential to enhance some of Council’s long term projects, and Council requests that the RMS work closely with Council staff to achieve the best value for money from residual assets.
2. Make further submissions as the design process commences, briefing Councillors regularly and reporting back to Council as required.
3. Request RMS agreement to further discuss its requirements for the occupation of Council owned land and to negotiate agreements subject to formal Council approval, for the acquisition of various properties.
