Peninsula Chamber of Commerce: Road upgrade projects taking too long

Multimillion-dollar projects to upgrade some of Woy Woy Peninsula’s worst traffic black spots are taking way too long to start according to the area’s business chamber.

Design work has begun on the intersection of Maitland Bay Drive and Picnic Parade at Ettalong Beach.

• West Gosford development back with changes
• Coast’s cutest lake cottage?

Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has accused the State Government of moving too slowly to deliver $35 million in promised roadworks on the Woy Woy Peninsula.

Chamber President Matthew Wales said the chamber had identified a number of problem roads which desperately needed upgrades, but only one — the intersection of Maitland Bay Drive and Picnic Parade at Ettalong Beach — had started.

Dunban Road Ocean Beach Road intersection at Woy Woy still waiting for action.

Mr Wales said the $470,000 design contract had been let for this project but it would still be six to 12 months before any physical work started on site.

“The promise by the NSW State Government to upgrade the intersection came about after strong pressure from the Peninsula Chamber during the 2017 Gosford By-election,” Mr Wales said.

“The commitment was made after the State Government pulled any further funding from the Woy Woy Rail Underpass after the project costs blew out to over $100 million,” he said.

Busy Blackwall Road is due for an upgrade.

“The Chamber identified several key intersections which the State Government agreed to fund as part of a $35M Peninsula roads package.

“The package included the Dunban Road/Ocean Beach Road intersection and safety improvements to Blackwall Road and Woy Woy Road”.

“However, the Chamber remains concerned that none of these projects has yet been delivered with only the Maitland Bay Road intersection in design phase.”

Woy Woy Road is also on a list of roads to be upgraded.

Mr Wales said increasing amounts of traffic were coming onto the Peninsula from northern coastal suburbs including Kincumber and MacMasters Beach in order to access the Woy Woy Rail Station and M1 Motorway.

“This is placing enormous pressure on our local road systems and increasing the safety risk at key intersections,” he said.

“The Chamber is calling on the State Government to ramp up its efforts to get these projects underway and shorten the design to construction periods before these projects rollover into yet another election cycle.”

IN OTHER NEWS