Oatley Electorate Roads

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-110245

Hansard session: Fifty-Seventh Parliament, First Session (57-1)

Oatley Electorate Roads

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (17:39):

:26 I inform the House of local road projects currently being undertaken across the electorate of Oatley. This investment in our road transport network will ensure residents across New South Wales are spending less time commuting and more time with their family and friends. Across my electorate we are seeing investment in the widening of King Georges Road, a project that has been talked about for generations—for 40 years, in fact. For too long motorists have experienced significant congestion along this road corridor, particularly during weekday peak periods. Our Government has recognised this and acted. The proposed improvements are designed to deliver a faster and more reliable journey. King Georges Road will receive a $40 million injection for its widening between Stoney Creek Road, Beverly Hills and Forest Road, Hurstville. Thousands of motorists each and every day are set to benefit from the widening of 1.5 kilometres of King Georges Road to three lanes in each direction, which will significantly reduce congestion along this corridor.

Furthermore, the M6 extension, which has been talked about for centuries, will also ease congestion across our network, connecting President Avenue at Kogarah to the new M5 motorway at Arncliffe. This project will remove over 2,000 trucks a day—I repeat, 2,000 trucks a day—from surface roads, returning local streets to local communities. It is about creating an integrated transport solution across our State. As part of an integrated transport solution, this four kilometre underground motorway will ease congestion, allowing users to bypass up to 23 sets of traffic lights on the Princes Highway between St Peters and Kogarah. It will contribute to a more accessible, more livable and more productive Greater Sydney.

This integrated network also includes the widening of the M5 and extension of the M4, resulting in thousands and thousands of quality jobs and reducing travel times across the State. Similarly, the newly constructed M5 Belmore Road on and off ramps are also enabling local residents to get to and from work sooner. These ramps have reduced congestion and improved the flow of traffic on the motorway, helping thousands of motorists who use this route every day to spend more time with their families rather than being stuck in traffic. This project, in conjunction with the widening of the M5 East and duplication of the M5 tunnels, will bring much‑needed relief to thousands upon thousands of motorists across Sydney.

The new M5 will provide twin nine kilometre underground motorway tunnels from Kingsgrove to the new St Peters interchange at the site of the old Alexandria landfill facility. The St Peters interchange will provide motorists with connections to Alexandria and Mascot. It also includes connections to the future Sydney Gateway, the M4‑M5 Link and the F6 Extension. Local streets and intersections around the St Peters interchange are also being upgraded to ensure safe and efficient connections for the new M5. It is expected that the upgrades will be open to traffic later this year. Importantly though the project is protecting six hectares of new open space in St Peters, creating 12 kilometres of shared pathways around St Peters and over 4,400 jobs, while maintaining no impact on Wolli Creek bushland. As part of this M5 project, my local community also saw upgrades to the King Georges Road interchange at Beverly Hills, which until now has been a well‑known bottleneck for south‑western Sydney motorists.

In saying this, our Government recognises that a successful road system is not just about the grand projects; it is also about consistently improving and updating our local roads. That is why we have delivered much-needed local projects, including a roundabout in Beverly Hills at the intersection of Edgbaston Road and Melvin Street. We have also responded to community safety concerns by swiftly delivering new pedestrian crossings around Mortdale and Penshurst as well as school crossing supervisors for St Joseph's at Oatley and Mortdale Public School. These local projects, along with many other major projects, are all aimed at improving road safety and ensuring that motorists return home from their destinations. I thank the Minister and the Government for this incredible commitment and service. I look forward to keeping the House up to date on any further developments.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Lee Evans):We will look forward to that. I thank the member for Oatley for his Churchillian private member's statement.