Heathcote Rd upgrades: NSW Labor announces $175m plans
A whopping $175m has been committed to upgrade a notoriously dangerous Sydney road where a police officer tragically died in a high-speed head-on crash last month.
A whopping $175m has been committed to upgrade a notoriously dangerous Sydney road where a police officer tragically died in a high-speed head-on crash last month.
NSW Labor announced the substantial funding, which includes $2 million to duplicate the Woronora River Bridge, to address significant safety risks and increasing driver demand.
The promised upgrades include widening Heathcote Rd to two lanes in both directions between the Princes Hwy and New Illawarra Rd, and between The Avenue at Voyager Point and Infantry Parade.
Residents have called desperately for safety upgrades after a string of fatal accidents on the notorious road, including a head-on crash on January 30 where Liverpool police officer Constable Timothy Proctor tragically lost his life.
Keira state Labor MP Ryan Park joined Heathcote state Labor candidate Maryanne Stuart and Holsworthy state Labor candidate Charishma Kaliyanda to announce the funding package today.
“More than 36,000 people use Heathcote Rd every day, and that’s a lot of people who are put at risk on such a narrow bridge,” Ms Stuart said.
“It just wasn’t meant to handle this much traffic.”
Heathcote state Liberal MP dismissed the Labor announcement as a “load of nonsense”.
“The Government has already funded $173 million in the last budget towards widening of the Heathcote Road bridge over the Woronora River, and widening the road between Hammondville and Voyager Point,” Mr Evans said.
“Labor’s $2 million delivers absolutely nothing beyond this – this is just a poor copy-and-paste job by Labor.”
Mr Evans said the government had already started investigating the next stage of the upgrade.
“Given Labor’s hypocritical scare campaign around the F6, they should also come clean and confirm whether or not it’s possible to duplicate the bridge without impacting Heathcote National Park,” Mr Evans added.
Ms Kaliyanda said traffic congestion and road safety were major problems on local roads.
“It’s incredibly frustrating, and our community is angry about it,” Ms Kaliyanda said.
“Labor’s plan will improve conditions, easing congested bottlenecks, meaning less time in traffic and more time sage at home with family and friends,” Ms Kaliyanda said.
Ms Stuart said widening lanes was not a long-term solution and duplicating the bridge was a necessary measure.
“Even (Heathcote state Liberal MP) Lee Evans said that a duplication “would have been my preferred option” but, he couldn’t get his own Liberal Party to stump up the funds,” Ms Stuart said.
“If Lee Evans can’t get results in his own party, then he’s not up to the job of representing our community.”
Shadow treasurer Mr Park said Mr Evans and Holsworthy state Liberal MP Melanie Gibbons had dragged their heels on Heathcote Rd.
“Labor has listened to the community and to the experts, and we understand how important Heathcote Rd is to supporting local jobs and the local economy,” Mr Park said.
Last June Ms Gibbons announced a $173m funding package for Heathcote Rd, though no progress has been made since the proposed upgrade was announced.
Plans included a duplication of Heathcote Rd between Infantry Pde and The Avenue, which also features in NSW Labor’s funding package.
Funds were committed in the 2018-2019 State Government Budget but construction work is yet to begin on the notorious stretch of road.
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