After years of campaigning, work is finally slated to start on the Unanderra station lifts.
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The first stage of construction, due to start next month, includes a family accessible toilet with change table and a new digital public address system.
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The larger works such as the lifts will follow once planning approval has been received.
Transport for NSW has opted to change the location of the footbridge over the station, moving it to the centre of the platform.
Building a new footbridge rather than upgrading the current one "would result in considerable financial savings over the next 30 years" a Transport for NSW spokesman said.
The footbridge construction will see the loss of nine parking spots on the western side of the station.
The footbridge represents a change in the design so it has been out for public comment until August 27.
"This is the start of the station upgrade that all of Wollongong has been waiting for," Wollongong MP Paul Scully said.
The new footbridge will also be covered with a canopy, which was not structurally possible on the existing one.
"It has long been my view that building the lifts closer to the car park was a better option," Mr Scully said.
"It's taken a while, but I think the Berejiklian Government might have finally gotten the message, that we expected an upgrade to Unanderra Station that not only solved the access problem, but one that also didn't skimp on the basics like weather protection."
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