It’s not quite finished yet, but the widening of Narellan Road is making life easier for both private motorists and business users of this vital link between Camden and Campbelltown.
Anyone who has driven on Narellan Road in the past few weeks would have noticed the reduction in traffic congestion.
One well known Macarthur business says the improved traffic flow is also delivering savings in time and money.
“Whereas before we’d have a call from Campbelltown and we’d have to tell them we might be up to an hour or more away in peak hour, now it’s taken at least 20 minutes off in peak hour,’’ says Funnells Electrical spokesman Adam Archer.
“We can guarantee we’re going to be there on time,” Mr Archer said.
Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor said the infrastructure build in South West Sydney was starting to get ahead of growth.
“We have this unique window I think, where we can push ahead and get to a point where jobs and infrastructure come on ahead of, or in line with, housing,’’ he said.
“That’s the nirvana I’m pushing to and I think it’s now within reach,” Mr Taylor said.
“This is why the Western Sydney City Deal is so important because we now have alignment between federal, state and local governments, across party lines, on a vision for where we’re going in Western and South Western Sydney, which everyone has signed up to.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“The road build around the planned Western Sydney Airport is happening very quickly.[/social_quote]
“It’s unusual for the Federal Government to play the lead role in building a major new suburban centre, but that’s what we’re doing here.”
Stage two – the final stage – of Narellan Road upgrades is nearing completion, with three lanes now open instead of two on both sides of Narellan Road between Camden Valley Way and Blaxland Road.
Bus bays and cycle lanes on Narellan Road bridge are expected to be completed by the end of this month.
The upgrades are a joint $114 million commitment by the Australian and NSW Governments to reduce congestion and improve safety and travel times.
Not sure I would claim credit for a project that was years overdue, took far too long to build and simply gets us back to where we were 8 years ago in terms of traffic time. Perhaps the question is not how much money business is saving now but how much they have lost over this period?
The building of another lane on the road is a poor substitute for a public transport system including a train service. The last time I drove from Campbelltown to Camden took near an hour and the Government is pushing another 100,000 plus in the area so the residents will spend most of their life in their cars and be lucky to see their kids in daylight for summer. All this government is interested in building tollways for their friends Transurban and forcing workers to pay to go to work.