Works have started on the fully federally funded Princes Highway and Hector McWilliam Drive intersection near Tuross Head on the NSW south coast. Member for Gilmore, Ann Sudmalis together with the Tuross Head Progress Association negotiated the project funding that will support the upgrade and improve road safety. Mrs Sudmalis said,"The works will be extensive and will include the creation of a dedicated left-turn lane from the Princes Highway onto Hector McWilliam Drive as well as a new sealed commuter car park to replace the existing car park."
"Other works include the installation of a concrete median and moving the stop line forward on Hector McWilliam Drive, widening the bus bay and extending it to the south. This will allow buses to park further away from the intersection, improving sight distance." Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack said road safety was crucial to region and that the condition of the road needed to meet the demands of busy tourist seasons. "The project will not only save travel time for local drivers but also for the visitors who flock to the south coast in holiday season." Access to the new carpark will be on Hector McWilliam Drive only and access from the Princes Highway will be removed. Commuters will be able to access the old commuter carpark during the works. Other projects under the Eurobodalla Roads Upgrade Package, which will provide important safety benefits for Gilmore, include a roundabout at George Bass Drive and Tomakin Road to improve traffic flow and new traffic lights will be installed at the intersection of Beach Road and Perry Street. Lane closures and a 40 km/h speed limit will be in place during work hours and may affect travel times. Motorists should allow up to five minutes extra travel time during this work. Works are expected to be completed by late 2018, weather permitting and will be carried out on weekdays between 7am and 6pm and on Saturdays between 8am and 1pm, excluding public holidays.
The New Carpark.
Above: Federal Member for Gilmore looks over the plan for the new carpark. With highway modifications impacting on the old off-road carparking additional monies were included in the Federal commitment to replace same with same that will see a new carpark built on RMS at the intersection. At a recent council meeting Clr Lindsay Brown raised as a matter of Urgency that the new carpark provided no disabled access to the bus-stops on the highway. Clr Brown moved as a matter of urgency that the member for Bega be contacted to see if the State might provide additional funding for a bus facility similar to that at Sussex Inlet which would see passengers picked up and dropped off at an off-highway bus-stop.
The Tuross Head Progress Association strongly supports Council’s strong recommendation to the RMS that the design of the car park should be reconfigured to enable it to service bus services travelling north and south on the Princes Highway to drop off and pick up passengers in the same car park, and relocate the existing bus shelter from the side of the highway opposite the “T” intersection into the car park precinct. Secretary of the THPA has advised the Beagle that they have received the response that "your correspondence is presently receiving attention.You will be contacted again in due course to advise of information received relating to your enquiry". Meanwhile the machinery is on site and working to the original design that will see the bus-stops remain on the highway. At the time of the sod turning today the RMS officers have not received any instruction or enquiry for modification.
