It will be the death knell for the “Albion Park crawl”.
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The Albion Park crawl isn’t some sort of alternative swimming stroke, though it does leave you with a sinking feeling.
No, it is the traffic congestion locals and travellers to and from the South Coast have become familiar with when they hit suburb of Albion Park.
Locals have learned to avoid the area at all costs.
It used to be only most unbearable at peak holiday periods but has been gradually extending to more often than not.
That’s kind of hard if you live there though.
A bypass has long offered a solution and we have seen what an incredible impact that can have when you look at the now operational Berry bypass.
With the first sod turned on the major construction works happening on Monday, the bypass is expected to be completed in 2022.
As with any major roadworks there will be some issues, but the short-term pain will be vastly outweighed by the long-term gain.
This is a significant piece of work by any standards.
The construction of the project is estimated at $630 million.
The works includes 13 bridges and a million cubic metres of earthworks.
Eventually there will be The six lanes of the bypass which will cut through that hill, bringing it almost to the same level as the East West Link.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra Gareth Ward said for “the community this is a great win”.
“The project features innovative designs including a bridge that will let sunlight in underneath the highway at Yallah, while incorporating noise mitigation measures and native plant species into the landscape.
“Once complete, the new motorway will bypass 16 intersections and motorists will save up to 30 per cent in travel time.
“It will be a long journey and we thank the community for their patience – it will be worth it.”
This is much needed and lonq-awaited.