Local roads funding has become a major flashpoint for the Gilmore candidates, with both backing projects along the Princes Highway.

Mr Constance, NSW's former Transport Minister, who resigned from state politics in October, said pushing for funding through the federal government's Roads to Recovery Program will be his top priority due to the poor structural integrity of some South Coast roads.

"The maintenance backlog on local road repairs is beyond crisis point, particularly in the Shoalhaven," Mr Constance said on Monday.

"Roads out to the Bay and Basin area have been hit by significant wear and tear with additional seasonal traffic from the holidays."

But Labor's Fiona Phillips, who holds Gilmore with a 2.6 per cent margin, hit back and said it's "rich" of Mr Constance to "cry foul over our roads" when a Transport for NSW document shows that four out of five state-managed regional roads need fixing.

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The document, released to the NSW Upper House and obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald, reveals almost four out of five state-managed roads in regional NSW and parts of outer Sydney are more than 20-years-old and 2000 kilometres are in "poor" or "very poor" condition.

It also shows 77 per cent of state-managed roads have exceeded the typical minimum design life of 20 years, according to the Herald.

In response to the report, Mr Constance said he "wasn't the regional roads minister" and pointed out that he signed off on $3.5 billion for Princes Highway upgrades and worked closely with Kiama MP Gareth Ward and South Coast MP Shelley Hancock.

"My focus is with the community and not what my opponent is saying," he said.

"I'm happy to point to the $3.5 billion dollars that has been attained under my watch, either as Treasurer, or Transport Minister in terms of the Princes Highway.

"Ultimately, I'll be arguing to try and get more funds through the federal government roads to recovery program to try and start to address this problem."

Cries for a Nowra bypass have ramped up and both vying for the Gilmore seat have voiced their backing for the long-discussed project.

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Mrs Phillips has advocated for a Nowra bypass in parliament and launched a petition pushing for the project in November.

Campaigning alongside Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese at Moruya and Mogo last week, Labor pledged to also back more Princes Highway projects.

Mr Albanese avoided specific pledges but said a Labor government would negotiate with state leaders over projects.

Mrs Phillips launched further criticism at Mr Constance for "not showing interest" in local roads when he was minister.

"As minister he was responsible for the light rail, ferries and trains fiascos. He put billions into gold-plated toll roads in Sydney while completely ignoring our local roads," said Mrs Phillips.

"Andrew Constance has never shown any interest whatsoever in roads in the Shoalhaven...he never even started pre-planning for the Nowra bypass. He was absent on upgrading the Currarong Road - all roads I've been strongly advocating for."

When Mr Constance was endorsed as Liberal candidate last month, he said he would invest in infrastructure, and mentioned the Nowra bypass.

"It's important that we continue to invest in our local infrastructure and the jobs associated," he said on January 17.

"There are issues the community are crying out for...the Nowra Bypass one of them."

In March 2021, when Mr Constance was Transport Minister, he expressed a bypass should happen "sooner rather than later".

He said his aim in the lead-up to the federal election was to push for a Princes Highway strategy, similar to the one which saw the Pacific Highway duplicated and many towns along its route bypassed.

Both candidates also said they would fight for local infrastructure projects, with Mrs Phillips on Wednesday promising a $7.5 million investment to build the new Sanctuary Point District Library.

Mrs Phillips said the commitment follows extensive consultation from Shoalhaven City Council, who have released detailed plans and architectural drawings of the new facility.

"I have been campaigning with the Sanctuary Point community for years on this critical investment for the Bay and Basin community," said Mrs Phillips, who was joined by Jason Clare, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government.

"Sanctuary Point is a much-loved community that fully deserves this infrastructure. As a mum myself, I know how important it is for our young people to our elderly to have good access to libraries for their education and wellbeing."

Mr Constance said he would push for the new library by backing council's application for federal government assistance, however has not made a specific pledge.

He has also expressed his backing for a Sanctuary Point pump track.

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