Ryan Park: ‘Mt Ousley interchange upgrade desperately needed’
Immediate upgrades to the Mt Ousley interchange is needed for long-suffering commuters, with a Wollongong MP saying the current setup “is the most dangerous in the state’.
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Planning work on the Mt Ousley interchange could hit serious delays if $6 million is not allocated in the upcoming state budget, according to Keira state Labor MP Ryan Park.
Mr Park said the cash was needed for a final, detailed design of the interchange to get the project shovel-ready, labelling the current design one of the most dangerous in the state.
“We cannot afford a project like this to be stalled,” he said.
“This allocation, of around $6 million needs to be allocated in this budget, otherwise the cost of the project increases, the project begins to stall and we get to a period where we’ve almost got to start again.”
Plans for the “transformative” new interchange involve removing the right-hand turn onto the motorway from old Mt Ousley Road, including grade separation for heavy vehicles travelling south and providing another entrance to the University of Wollongong.
Mr Park said he would be meeting Transport and Roads Minister Andrew Constance in the coming weeks to again press the issue of continued funding, noting it was needed more than ever given the rate at which the city is growing.
“… I want to make sure this project is prioritised as part of the budget,” he said,
“We cannot allow people to continue to turn right and cross multiple lanes of fast moving traffic on one of the busiest motorways in the country, this doesn’t occur anywhere else and it shouldn’t be happening here in the Illawarra.”
A Transport for NSW spokesman said while the next stage of the project was a detailed design, construction timeframes, and costing were not yet available.
Mr Park said he expected the next planning stage of the project to take around 12-months.