The project has started with preliminary stages including initial land acquisitions, project planning and development, and survey and design, with Shoalhaven City Council engaging a “suitably experienced road design consultant”.

The consultant will review the known data (including current Nowra bypass corridors and service corridors) and to provisionally design the northern and southern connection points of the road.

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Council said the Far North Collector Road conceptual alignment (indicated in the concept drawing) must be located in consideration to the known flooding of Bomaderry Creek.

Just how close the actual alignment will get to the waterway will be determined during the detailed design phase.

Council hopes to start the detailed design process in March 2019 and will be in a position in July 2019 to better estimate construction costs and delivery milestones but it is expected to be completed by approximately mid-2022.

The federal government approved a provisional sum of $13.8 million to progress the network in July 2018.

Then Treasurer Scott Morrison, now Prime Minister, had announced the funding in the 2017 Federal Budget and then came to Nowra to sell the said budget.

“The proposed Northern Collector Road is designed to alleviate traffic congestion as part of essential pre-works prior to the replacement of the Shoalhaven River crossing at Nowra,” he said at the time.

The road’s aim are to assist in reducing traffic volumes on Illaroo Road, currently the only access into/out of North Nowra.

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It will allow new growth from the Moss Vale Road (south) Urban Release Area to access North Nowra directly (mitigating the impacts of the Moss Vale Road Urban Release Area’s on the state road network).

It will also resolve local access problems during construction of the Moss Vale Road (south) Urban Release Area.

When the road was initially announced it was described as “absolutely necessary” to alleviate pressure on the Shoalhaven River crossing, especially during the $310 million replacement of the 137-year-old southbound iron Nowra bridge with a new four-lane northbound bridge and the construction phase around the Illaroo Road.

At the time Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis said the work was an essential first step for the later construction of the Nowra Bridge but Kiama MP Gareth Ward said through representations the RMS has indicated there would not be a need to permanently close Illaroo Road during the bridge’s construction as first thought.

“I made it clear to the RMS that the community would simply find it unacceptable for Illaroo Road to be closed for an indefinite period of time during the construction,” Mr Ward said.

“And they have agreed with that.”

Latest RMS designs released in August last year showed three lanes turning south out of Illaroo Road onto the Princes Highway and a dedicated left lane heading north.

It is understood the RMS as acquired around 10 homes on the northern side of Illaroo Road which will be demolished to allow for the extra southbound and dedicated northbound lane.