With the removal of a few remaining traffic cones, Premier Mike Baird, Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Duncan Gay and parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra Gareth Ward officially opened the $340 million Gerringong upgrade on Thursday.

Three years after work on the 7.5 kilometres of new highway between Mount Pleasant and Toolijooa Road began, traffic was again flowing freely at 100km/h.

‘‘It has been a long journey, but as you can see today [Thursday] ... it is open, it is good to go and that is an exciting time for this community,’’ Mr Baird said.

The opening happened under blue sky and sunshine – a moment that wasn’t lost on Mr Gay.  

‘‘There is no better sight than this road here today [Thursday]. 

‘‘This is a project the sun has shone on all the way through, even on those days after days of wet days that the project went through early in its genesis,’’ Mr Gay said.

The minister thanked Gerringong residents for their help during the building process, saying the one thing that ‘‘summed up’’ the project was the community relations. 

‘‘I don’t think I’ve seen a more-loved project ... I’ve got 4600 projects across the state and this one stands out as a happy project that the sun has shone on all the way.’’

Kiama mayor Brian Petschler praised the government for helping end the ‘‘statistics of death and destruction’’ caused by the previous stretch of highway.

Mr Ward, the member for Kiama, also thanked the community for its patience.

‘‘This section has seen in the past loss of life, we’ve seen serious accidents and injury,’’ he said. 

‘‘What this will do is not only be a great investment for our community, relieving some of that congestion around Mount Pleasant at peak times, but also provide a safer highway that will make a real difference in the lives of my community.’’