Wakehurst Parkway: Notorious northern beaches road to be widened as part of $150m upgrade

One of the northern beaches’ most notorious roads is set for a $150m upgrade including a section being widened to four lanes.

One of the northern beaches’ most complained about roads is set to get a $150 million upgrade.

A section of the Wakehurst Parkway will be widened from two to four lanes co-funded between the federal and NSW governments to reduce traffic congestion and make the road safer

In a win for the federal Liberal MP for Mackellar, Jason Falinski, who has been lobbying for several years for the state-owned road to be widened, $75m will be set aside in Tuesday’s federal budget.

A head-on collision on Wakehurst Parkway in 2021 which left two people seriously injured. Picture: Jim O'Rourke

Mr Falinski said the other $75m will come from the NSW Government.

But the work will not stop the road being flooded several times a year.

On Tuesday the council voted to begin detailed design and environmental assessments for reducing flooding at Oxford Falls.

It also decided to look at options at The Bends to work out if the environmental impact of those could be reduced

On Tuesday night Mayor Michael Regan said Wakehurst Parkway was “not a priority” for the NSW Government

“This is a state road. The only way to permanently stop this from flooding is to raise the road and that’s been made clear.”

The new work will see the Parkway widened, in both directions, between the intersection with Dreadnought Rd at Oxford Falls, then south through the busy intersection with Warringah Rd to past the intersection with Aquatic Dr at Frenchs Forest.

Mr Falinski welcomed the cash splash, but said on Monday the new work was “just 20 per cent” of what he had been advocating for, which included widening the whole northern stretch of the Parkway from Oxford Falls to Narrabeen.

Federal Liberal MP for Mackellar Jason Falinski on Wakehurst Parkway at Narrabeen. The MP welcomed the $150m in funding to start widening the road, but said it was just the start. Picture: Supplied

“It’s a good start,” he said. “But it’s not even the end of the beginning.

“The police have been telling me recently that as often as the road is closed off due to flooding, it’s increasingly getting closed off due to really bad car crashes as well.

“This is all about people, about people spending more time with their families and their friends, instead of in their cars,

“The biggest local issue on the northern beaches is traffic congestion and I’ll keep lobbying for improvements, not just to our road system, but our transport system overall.

“And unlike other announcements, this isn’t a promise or another study, it is money in the bank.”

A car and motorbike collided head on along Wakehurst Parkway at Narrabeen In February this year with the female rider of the bike taken to Royal North Shore hospital in a critical condition. Picture: Toby Zerna

The new work will include a new shared pedestrian and cycle bridge just south of the Warringah Rd intersection at Frenchs Forest that will connect Aquatic Dr and Fitzpatrick

Ave East.

New fauna rope crossings to protect wildlife will be installed and a right-hand only turn lane will be created on the Parkway, for vehicles heading south, at the T-junction with Oxford Falls Rd.

Cars regularly have to drive through flooded sections of Wakehurst Parkway. The council has voted to start work to reduce flooding on the stretch between Oxford Falls and Narrabeen. Picture: Julian Andrews

In February 2021, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) officially offered $13.1 million to the council, if it voted to proceed with work to improve water flows under the road with new culverts and drains, creek realignments, sediment removal and new levees.

Wakehurst Parkway is closed about six times a year due to flooding. Picture: Jeremy Piper

But the road could still flood once every two years.

Mayor Regan said NSW Government priority needs to be given to funding the next stage of the Mona Vale Rd widening upgrade “given the Parkway was not going to be floodproofed by the state or federal govenments”.

The independent candidate for Mackellar at the upcoming federal election, Sophie Scamps, said Wakehurst Parkway had “been a problem for many years” because the “community was being taken for granted as a safe Liberal seat”.

“Now that there’s a strong independent running for Mackellar these problems are finally being addressed,” Dr Scamps said.

Work on the new project is expected to begin in early 2023 and be completed by mid-2025.