Appin Road, which provides a vital connection between Sydney’s south-west and Wollongong, will be widened to four lanes between Rosemeadow and Gilead as part of a generational transformation of the area.
Around 12,000 motorists use Appin Road every day and this is expected to grow by about 40 per cent over the next 30 years as the population increases.
To meet this demand, the widened road will feature two new intersections to provide residents access to new housing estates.
Two other intersections at Copperfield Drive and Fitzgibbon Lane will also be upgraded at a later stage as part of the project.
The project considered biodiversity and wildlife in its design to preserve one of the few recovering koala populations in NSW.
In response to community feedback, this project will see box culvert koala underpasses being built which are larger than originally proposed.
It has been designed in consultation with koala experts with experience locally and throughout the east coast, and consistent with feedback from the community submitted during the consultation period.
The work will be delivered and funded by Lendlease, which is building a housing development at Mount Gilead next to Appin Road.
Lendlease is delivering this project as part of a Voluntary Planning Agreement with the Department of Planning and Environment as part of their conditions of approval for the Figtree Hill development.
Two koala crossings and new fencing along Appin Road between Gilead and Rosemeadow will be key elements of the upgrade to this important thoroughfare.
Construction is expected to begin this year, weather permitting.
Transport for NSW intends to deliver further upgrades through the Appin Road Safety Improvement project and around the intersection with Brian Road.
The project determination document is available to view here and the community can visit the project website nswroads.work/appin-road-upgrade to read the submission report.
Quote from a Transport for NSW Spokesperson:
“At a time when housing is a major issue, this upgrade will allow for a new development to be realised around Mount Gilead while also supporting traffic using Appin Road as a corridor between Sydney’s south-west and Wollongong.
“While the section between Rosemeadow and Gilead is an important part of this, further works along Appin Road will help traffic flows and improve safety.
“This upgrade is extremely important for managing general traffic and assisting freight movements through the region, so Transport for NSW has taken steps to maintain a wildlife corridor that links the Georges and Nepean Rivers.
“It has taken time to get this right, but there is confidence these designs will significantly reduce koala vehicle strike at this location and improve the function of this important koala habitat corridor.
“Determining an underpass design that koalas are likely to use combined with a fencing strategy to stop koalas crossing Appin Road has been a complex undertaking – right down to the shape of the culverts themselves, the design of the fencing, and support structures like koala escape structures and refuge poles.”
