[Forum] One has to ask; just how much planning is really needed to achieve the long overdue and much needed upgrade to The Pacific Highway through Wyong?
I enclose extracts from my latest round of correspondence with the NSW Government on this matter, which started with the enquiry being lodged with the Parliamentary Secretary for Central Coast, who failed to acknowledge my enquiry, let alone do anything to provide a response.
Maybe he was too busy fast tracking the upgrade of the Central Coast Highway through his electorate, details of which were announced in the June 10 edition of the Coast Community Chronicle.
The following is a letter sent to the NSW Premier on March 5, 2020.
“Some weeks ago I asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Central Coast, Adam Crouch, Member for Terrigal, to advise me the date that actual physical work is scheduled to commence on the widening of the Pacific Highway through Wyong, from the current four lane section south of the Wyong River bridge, through Wyong shopping precinct and north to the Watannobi roundabout.
“As I have had no reply from Mr Crouch, not even an acknowledgement of my request for this information, I am now asking you to provide me with an answer.
“I would be happy for this request to be re-addressed by you to the relevant Minister, who I trust can provide an accurate answer.
“As background to this request, I moved to Kanwal in 2008, and have been hearing about the plans to widen this stretch of road ever since.
“I have responded in detail to each public consultation opportunity with suggestions as to how this might be achieved.
“So Premier, after at least 12 years of promises to get the job done, can you please tell me, when is it going to happen?” the letter said.
One month later, I received the following response from Transport for NSW, on behalf of the NSW Government.
“The NSW Government is investing $9.5 million in 2019-20 and 2020-21 to progress planning for the Pacific Highway upgrade through Wyong town centre.
“The upgrade will provide two lanes in each direction between Johnson Rd at Tuggerah and Cutler Dr at Wyong, improving traffic flow, travel times and safety for all road users.
“Transport for NSW will prepare a staged delivery strategy for the upgrade, which will identify and compare delivery options.
“The detailed design is expected to start in the second half of 2020.
“A timeframe for completion of the upgrade has not yet been determined, however, Transport for NSW will keep the community updated as planning continues.
“More information about the project is available at roads-maritime.transport.nsw.gov.au”
The detail in this stunning response is nothing more than a cut and paste from the Transport for NSW website in relation to the project.
The letter writer also has a strange sense of humour and reality.
I fully accept his statement above “that a completion date has not yet been determined” as the younger generation might say in response: “der Fred – I get that, cos you haven’t set a start date yet!”
For the past several years, the NSW Government has allocated millions of dollars in its annual budget for planning for this project.
It would be instructive for the community if the Chronicle were able to obtain from the NSW Government, just how much planning money has been spent on this project to date.
By my recollection of past announcements, it can’t be less than $30M if the latest allocation is included, yet, not one shovel has been lifted on the project.
So, again I ask, when will physical work actually start?
Email, Jun 16
Neil Bevege, Kanwal
EDITOR’S NOTE: A statement from Adam Crouch’s office on June 19 said that about $30M has been spent to date, with about half being for property acquisition.
Before going to press, Mr Bevege said he had received acknowledgement of his letter from Mr Crouch’s office but nothing more.