THE MPs driving the campaign to fix traffic congestion at Wrights Road and the Oxley Highway in Port Macquarie, say they are “angry” and “disappointed” that Tuesday’s NSW Budget failed to deliver the funds needed to progress an upgrade.
Member for Port Macquarie Rob Dwyer said while he welcomed confirmation of funding to commence the massive upgrade of Port Macquarie Base Hospital, as well as the $12.7m to build 94 social and affordable units in Gordon Street, the Budget’s failure to include funding for the traffic hotspot showed “a lack of vision and courage”.
“I am very disappointed that the Minns Labor Government couldn’t see fit to include any funding towards finalising the business case, so the Federal Labor Government could be in a position to consider funding to upgrade the Oxley Highway,” he said.
“This is a vital project for our community to reduce the huge traffic congestion that sees 20,000 cars and 1500 trucks use the highway each day.
“The bottleneck between the Wrights Road and Lake Road roundabouts is getting worse and is a growing source of frustration for motorists.
Mr Dwyer has been advocating for the upgrade since March, as his predecessor Leslie Williams did before her retirement.
“ I’ve met with the Roads Minister, I’ve met with the Director Northern Region of Transport for NSW and I will continue to bang the drum along with my Local and Federal Government colleagues to get this job done once and for all.
“The Minns Labor Government needs to remember that it was the former State Labor Government that oversaw the planning and construction of the Oxley Highway, which put us in the position that we are all in today – and that they need to fix.”
Member for Oxley Michael Kemp was similarly shocked at the absence of funding, especially as it is a shared priority.
“The Minns Government hasn’t listened to either the Liberals or the Nationals,” he told News Of The Area.
“I’ve told the Minister (Jenny Aitchison) that it is very important to the people of Wauchope and the Upper Hastings that Wrights Road is funded.”
Federal MP for Cowper Pat Conaghan says he’ll be seeking a detailed explanation of why the project wasn’t supported.
“After continual promises for solutions to the Wrights Road, Lake Road and Oxley Highway safety and congestion issues from the NSW Labor Ministerial teams, it’s extremely disappointing to hear that there is no funding currently allocated to the project in the recent budget papers,” he said.
“I will be writing to both the State and Federal teams to seek clarification on the issue and hold them to account for their previous assurances.
“Our community is growing, and with accidents occurring with increasing regularity around the Port Macquarie Base Hospital, we can’t continue to hold our breath for funding.”
Mayor Adam Roberts was approached for comment.
By Sue STEPHENSON
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