It’s been on the cards for close to 40 years, and in two years time – if all goes to plan – Dapto residents will finally be able to drive across the Fowlers Road bridge.
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The massive $93 million project charged ahead this week, with contractors lifting 19 pre-cast concrete planks onto one of the bridges which will form the link between Dapto and the newer suburbs to the west.
Situated on land between the suburb of Horsley and Dapto High School, this bridge will provide the foundations for the rest of the Fowlers Road to Fairwater Drive road to progress.
Wollongong City Council’s general manager David Farmer said putting in place the first of the two bridges on the long-awaited project was “a major milestone”.
“This has been on the board for about 40 years, so it’s pleasing to watch it becoming a reality,” he said.
When it’s finished, it will provide instant relief to residents of West Dapto and ... long-term flood-resistant traffic options for all of the West Dapto release area.
- David Farmer, general manager
“When it’s finished, it will provide instant relief to residents of West Dapto, and it will also provide long-term flood-resistant traffic options for all of the West Dapto release area.”
“This is a complex, technical job to design a bridge over the floodplain … and just as complex has been getting the funds together to build it.”
The bridge will be funded with a combination of state and federal cash, as well as money from West Dapto developer contributions and the council’s ordinary budget.
It is the single most expensive infrastructure project Wollongong council had undertaken.
Mr Farmer also said the bridge would help to spur on further development in the surrounding areas.
“There are some rezoning proposal for around this area that will be directly supported by this access point,” he said.
“So it affects the whole [West Dapto] jigsaw puzzle and also this particular area, which should assist in providing housing supply and keeping downward pressure on housing prices.”
The largest and most visible part of the Fowlers Road project – stages two and three – are out for tender until after Easter. The council expects to begin work on those stages in the middle of this year.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
