The Mt Ousley interchange has avoided the chop as the federal government wielded the axe on infrastructure projects.
The same goes for other projects in the Illawarra, including M1 Motorway improvements between Bulli Tops to Picton Road.
Further south the Jervis Bay Road and Princes Highway intersection upgrade - which just last month saw the construction contract awarded to SRG Global Civil - is also safe.
The survival of that $164 million federal and state funded project was flagged last month when federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King noted work on the "much-needed safety upgrade" was about to begin.
"The work we're funding will help save lives and reduce crashes," Ms King said.
"The intersection has the highest volume of vehicle movements on the Princes Highway between Nowra and the border with Victoria and has been the location of 15 crashes in the past five years, resulting in six serious and 11 minor injuries.
The Milton Ulladulla bypass and Nowra bypass are also planned to go ahead, as will the upgrades to Picton Road and the bypass of that town.
All these projects have now been grouped under the establishment of a Princes Highway road corridor, with a total federal government funding of $1.8 billion.
Business Illawarra had campaigned for a number of those projects and executive director Adam Zarth was pleased they had made the cut.
"We have worked hard to build the evidence base and successfully advocate with our members, local MPs and stakeholders for the Mount Ousley Interchange and the Picton Road Motorway," Mr Zarth said.
"We are relieved that funding has been retained that they can be delivered. Key road projects that are vital to the economic growth and performance of the Illawarra Shoalhaven have survived the review, and now we need to get on with their delivery in a way that provides opportunities for local businesses and skills our region's workforce."
With the road infrastructure now settled, Mr Zarth said it was time to focus on rail upgrades.
"We also need to get on with the long-awaited work to improve our region's rail network connectivity and resilience, and we look forward to progress on the NSW Government's election commitment to undertake an Illawarra rail network masterplan," he said.
It is understood that most of the Illawarra projects survived the cull because they were partially funded by the NSW Government.
Earlier this year, Whitlam MP Stephen Jones said he expected the work at Mt Ousley and Jervis Bay Road would pass muster.
In April a review of the 10-year, $120 billion pipeline was commissioned to ensure the most useful projects were funded.
Ms King has said there were too many items in the federal Infrastructure Investment Program, with the previous government increasing it from roughly 150 projects in 2012-13 to nearly 800 in 2022.
"The independent strategic review found that the Infrastructure Investment Program inherited from the former Coalition Government was undeliverable," Ms King said.
In her response to the review, 50 infrastructure projects have been slashed across the country to try and rein in a predicted $33 billion in cost blowouts
"As part of responding to the findings of the review, the government has made necessary decisions to no longer provide funding at this time to some projects," Ms King said.
"This includes projects that were not realistically going to be delivered with the funding available, have made little to no progress over a significant amount of time, and projects that do not align with Commonwealth or state and territory priorities."
Meanwhile, in a change to the federal government's infrastructure policy released earlier this week, Ms King signalled a change in the way projects would be funded.
"We are reshaping how the Commonwealth funds projects, returning to a preference of 50:50 funding with the states and territories for future investments, so both levels of government carry an equal share of both the benefits and the risks," Ms King said.
"This will mean the Commonwealth's infrastructure spend - which is being maintained at $120 billion - can go further, maximising the benefits of the Commonwealth's investment and ensuring shared accountability.
"It will help end the perverse incentives that saw the Federal Coalition throw money at projects that states did not want to build."
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.
