Just as the NRMA supports NorthConnex as the means of delivering a world-class  motorway from Sydney to the Hunter; the Illawarra also deserves the benefits derived from extending the M1 Princes Motorway.

While the project is identified in the State Infrastructure Strategy, we lack a commitment to commence planning and a construction timeline. 

On the M1 alone, the NRMA’s Priority Illawarra Region Projects include the extension from Waterfall to St Peters; Bulli Pass Upgrade; and climbing lanes at Mt Ousley. On Picton Road, $53 million in road safety improvements was completed in late 2013, but a new safety package is needed on five untreated sections. 

Yet, like the Hunter, the Illawarra is a growing regional centre roughly equidistant from Sydney. It too is experiencing population growth. Port Kemba is a vital port to our state, through which millions of tonnes of freight move annually.

That’s why the National Roads and Motorists’ Association urges the NSW Government to increase its funding commitment to the Illawarra in order to accelerate key road projects. This is a vital component of the NRMA’s submission to the government for the forthcoming budget.

Our region sees 10 million tonnes of freight flow through Port Kembla each year with 7 million tonnes from the Illawarra to Sydney. Our centrality in the state’s economy is obvious on the basis of these numbers alone. 

Not that it’s all about freight - 20,000 people commute from the Illawarra to the Sydney CBD and back every day.  

For the residents of the Illawarra, however, this is only part of the story. There is a growing backlog of repairs and upgrades on roads administered by local councils. It’s probably not generally realised that the vast majority of bitumen in NSW – almost 150,000km of 185,000 – is the preserve of local government.

The damage caused by last weeks’ devastating “storm of the century”, as it’s already known, will impact heavily and exacerbate councils’ maintenance backlog. Wollongong Council was already carrying $80 million in overdue repairs and upgrades. Councils can hardly be expected to carry this burden alone while last year the  Federal Government collected $15 billion  in fuel excise of which $6 billion was spent on roads. 

We know that upgrading dangerous roads makes a huge difference to the road toll.. For example recent upgrades to the Princes Highway north of Jervis Bay have resulted in a 90 per cent decrease in injury crashes.

Better roads save lives and encourage economic growth – the whole community benefits from a safe, efficient road network.

The Illawarra deserves no less than the Hunter.

The NRMA warmly welcomed the recent NSW Government announcement to commit to the Albion Park Rail Bypass project with the future extension of the M1  between Yallah and Oak Flats. This bypass will cut travel times to Wollongong and Port Kembla from Bomaderry given the investment being currently undertaken on the Princes Highway between Berry and Bomaderry.

NRMA was also pleased with the commitment of funds to road projects as part of Restart Illawarra. While these are of great benefit to the Illawarra, the region needs a clear plan for the delivery of the above mentioned Priority Projects.

The Illawarra needs what the Hunter is getting.  

Marisa Mastroianni is the NRMA Director for the Illawarra.