State govt gives Coffs Bypass the green light

THE State Government has today given the Coffs Harbour Bypass the tick of approval.

Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh has welcomed the latest milestone in obtaining final planning approval for the project.

THE State Government has today given the Coffs Harbour Bypass the tick of approval.

Now the development application is off to the Federal Government for that last vital piece of the approval puzzle.

Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh today welcomed the news.

"The State Government is where the bulk of the assessment work like the noise reports and the EIS is done so it's essentially 95 per cent done, and now it's off to the Federal Environment Minister for approval," Mr Singh said.

He estimated this will take another few weeks.

"This is yet another key milestone in obtaining final planning approval for the project and I'm eagerly awaiting the final planning approval, which is imminent.

"Final planning approval will lead to early works starting immediately."

Last month the Federal Government announced an additional $491 million for the long-awaited project.

It was billed as part of the Federal Government's COVID-19 economic recovery plan, but more likely the missing funds needed to ensure tunnels, and not cuttings, will be included in the final build.

The Coffs Harbour community has been waiting for decades for a bypass.

The 14 km bypass will be one of the last missing pieces of the Pacific Highway upgrade from south of the Englands Road roundabout, to the southern end of the Sapphire to Woolgoolga upgrade.

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