We've all been.there - approaching the Jervis Bay Road intersection on the highway from the north when someone pulls out in front of us. We've all seen the banked traffic stretching as far the eye can see, trying to turn north onto the highway.
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And we all know it's going to get worse before it gets better, especially as thousands more visitors than we're accustomed to head to the coast this summer for their COVID-restricted holidays.
The announcement this week that a grade-separated intersection was the NSW government's preferred option came as a welcome relief for the thousands of Bay and Basin residentss who have to queue at this intersection most mornings. The decision go with a flyover - or is it a flyunder? - is sensible on a couple of levels. It will make it easier to get onto the highway and it stands as an example of building for the future rather than going the cheaper route that would have quickly passed its use-by date.
It makes political sense as well. The 14,000 or so Bay and Basin residents have watched flyovers built for clusters of houses on side roads along the upgraded highway north of Nowra. They have rightfully asked why they shouldn't be afforded the same ease of movement onto and off the highway.
Of course, the concept design has flushed out the usual armchair road engineers who take issue with the inclusion of two small roundabouts into and out of the intersection at the end of Jervis Bay Road and argue that merging onto the highway will become a problem. If they have valid arguments, they should present them as submissions to the government.
Long-sufferng motorists should also realise that while a preferred option has been identified, it will be some time before they'll be able to sail on the highway through a new intersection.
We understand construction won't begin until at least 2022 - there's a mountain of detailed planning to do before the bulldozers are on the ground. And once construction does begin, there will be considerable disruption until the project is finished. As Joseph Stalin is credited with saying, you can't male an omelette without breaking eggs.
But let's not allow all that to overshadow the good news. Fixing the intersection has been uppermost in the minds of campaigner for years and a result is now on the horizon.
The community spoke long and loud for a flyover and the government listened.
