Without urgent work, two key roads linking the Illawarra will be at capacity in less than seven years.
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This revelation is contained in a new report compiled by the Illawarra Business Chamber (IBC) and the NRMA about upgrading road connectivity between Wollongong and Sydney.
The report states upgrades on Picton Road and the M1 Princes Motorway from Wollongong to Bulli Tops be given priority before there is no more room on either route.
It was “critical” that Picton Road be duplicated in the immediate future, the report recommended, with a provision to upgrade to six lanes down the track.
“Based on the study findings, it is recommended the project be completed by 2025 given this road will reach its anticipated peak hour capacity in 2022 and daily capacity in 2025,” the report stated.
When it came to the M1 Princes Motorway, the IBC-NRMA report went beyond the Mt Ousley interchange already in planning with the NSW government.
The report calls for the completion of the interchange by 2025, “given this road is expected to reach its estimated peak hour capacity in 2024 and daily capacity in 2026”.
As well as the interchange, the third southbound lane that ends halfway down Mt Ousley should be extended all the way to the bottom.
While Roads and Maritime Services has said a third lane is not part of the plans for the interchange it will be designed to allow for one at a later stage.
RMS is also planning to upgrade the M1 between Picton Road and Bulli Tops, reducing the sharpness of several curves and adding a lane in each direction.
The IBC-NRMA report recommended the interchange and extra lane be completed ahead of this upgrade.
The third “priority” project was an upgrade to the 2.5-kilometre southbound stretch of road between Sublime Point and Bulli Pass, to be completed by 2028.
READ MORE: Design for three lanes each-way on Mt Ousley
“There are high instances of merging, particularly at the interchanges with Appin Road and Bulli Pass, where heavy (and slow moving) vehicle volumes are growing, increasing the potential for further crashes,” the report stated.
The report claims these three projects would deliver annual benefits of $95 million to road users, $125 million in economic output, an increase in NSW gross state product by $630 million and create 1100 new jobs.
It also recommended public transport improvements like investigations into improving speed of passenger trains and connections between express and all-stations services, better commuter carparking at key stations and an express bus service between Shellharbour and Campbelltown.
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
