News archive - Princes Highway upgrade program

Several key outcomes and milestones have been announced today for priority projects under the Princes Highway upgrade program.

Milton Ulladulla bypass refined corridor

The location of the northern and central connections for the Milton Ulladulla bypass have now been confirmed, with a refined corridor released today. The corridor has been refined to accommodate three connections to the existing Princes Highway and minimise impacts to the environment where possible. It provides a better opportunity to connect the bypass to local roads and town centres, supporting access to local businesses, services, and homes.

Work is continuing on the concept design and environmental assessment, and once complete, more information about the bypass connections and design features will be released and the community will have opportunities to provide feedback. View the latest community update (PDF, 1.55Mb).

Jervis Bay to Sussex Inlet Road upgrade progressing

Work is progressing on the Jervis Bay Road to Hawken Road preferred strategic corridor to concept design. This involves extensive design work and investigations.

The upgrade includes:

• Four lanes for highway traffic, two in each direction.
• A continuous median barrier dividing the highway to help reduce the number and severity of crashes.
• Service roads to improve safety and provide access to the highway for residents and businesses.
• An intersection at Hawken Road that will feature an overpass, allowing traffic access to the highway in both directions as well as allowing east-west movements between Hawken Road and Blackbutt Range Road.
• Connection to the upgraded Jervis Bay Road intersection.

View the latest community update (PDF, 2.26Mb).

Moruya bypass community feedback report now available

Community feedback on three shortlisted corridors for the Moruya bypass has been captured in a report released in October 2022, now available online.

Transport will do further design work for all three shortlisted corridors to better understand the opportunities and challenges that all three corridors present.

Over the last two years approximately 1,300 submissions were received from the community during two rounds of consultation. View the Report (PDF, 9.46Mb).

What's happening on the Princes Highway?

We're upgrading the Princes Highway to be safer, more reliable, more efficient and better connected network for the NSW South Coast.

Watch the latest video updatee from Princes Highway upgrade program director, Julian Watson, providing an update on the program and priority projects.

Planning is progressing for five priority projects:

• Jervis Bay Road and Princes Highway intersection upgrade
• Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road upgrade
• Milton Ulladulla bypass
• Burrill Lake to Batemans Bay upgrade
• Moruya bypass

We're working closely with communities and stakeholders to ensure we balance the best outcomes for transport customers – now and into the future.

More news on the Princes Highway upgrade program.

The six kilometres section of the highway between Jervis Bay Road and Hawken Road has been identified as Stage 1 of the 20 kilometre Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road upgrade project.

The Federal Government has committed $400 million and the NSW Government will contribute $100 million to the Jervis Bay Road to Hawken Road upgrade. The prioritisation of the northern section follows assessments into safety, traffic efficiency, connectivity needs and environmental conditions.

Transport for NSW launched a Princes Highway upgrade webinar series to keep the community up to speed on what's involved in the planning and design of the upgrade program. View previous webinars and tell us what topics we should cover in future webinars.

View the latest Princes Highway upgrade program update (PDF, 1.4Mb) to see how work is progressing on the Princes Highway upgrade between Jervis Bay Road, south of Nowra, and the Victorian border.

For the safety of the community and workers, project teams on the Jervis Bay Road and Princes Highway upgrade, Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road, Milton Ulladulla bypass, Burrill Lake to Batemans Bay upgrade and Moruya bypass have COVID-19 Safe plans in place in line with NSW Public Health Orders. COVID-19 Safe plans consider field investigation work in the project area and travel to and from site. Current investigation work on the Princes Highway includes biodiversity and heritage studies, geotechnical investigations, flood mapping, noise monitoring and travel to and from site.

We are:

• Carrying out investigation work in remote areas and where social distancing can be followed
• Carrying out all engagement activities via phone or online. We are encouraging the community to phone or email the project team and will provide regular communication on our website, email and by mail for work happening near you.
• Wearing a face mask when face to face interactions are required, and maintaining a 1.5 metre distance and not shaking hands

Our teams are monitoring the situation and Transport for NSW will keep the community updated with any changes.

Jervis Bay Road and Princes Highway intersection upgrade – the Review of Environmental Factors and concept design is on display for community feedback until Sunday 18 July. View the Jervis Bay Road and Princes Highway intersection upgrade page for more information on the project, upcoming community information sessions and to have your say.

Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road upgrade – a consultation report for the strategic corridor option has been released. Cardno Pty Ltd have been awarded the contract to deliver the concept design for the project Their current focus is on carrying out important geotechnical and survey work to identify the project's preferred option and deliver the concept design and environmental assessment of the project. view the Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road upgrade page to view the consultation report and for more information on what's next.

Milton Ulladulla bypass – a consultation report has been released responding to over 2,500 comments on the preferred strategic corridor. The preferred strategic corridor option remains the preferred route because it will take more than twice the amount of traffic from the existing highway in the future, compared to western options. The preferred route also provides flexible options that will enable access to towns for residents, businesses and community members. A community co-design committee will be established to identify and recommend an option for the southern connection of the bypass and planning for the highway upgrade at Burrill Lake. View the Milton Ulladulla bypass page to view the consultation report and for more information on what's next.

Burrill Lake co-design – we've announced a community co-design approach for the highway upgrade at Burrill Lake. This will bring together representatives from community groups and residents, Transport, and other government agencies to form an independent committee. This will identify and recommend a preferred option to Transport for the highway upgrade planning at Burrill Lake. View the Burrill Lake to Batemans Bay page to get involved.

Moruya bypass – We recently invited community feedback on the preferred strategic corridor option. We are reviewing feedback and preparing a community consultation report. View the Moruya bypass page for more information on next steps.

Site investigations are being carried out across Princes Highway upgrade projects. This includes geotechnical, utility survey and biodiversity studies to get a better understanding of the environmental conditions of the area and inform the design of priority projects.

Traffic data collection is being carried out on the Princes Highway throughout Milton, Ulladulla, Burrill Lake, Lake Tabourie and Moruya over the summer holiday period to further assess how tourism and increased visitation to the region impacts the transport network, to inform the design of the Milton Ulladulla bypass and Moruya bypass projects.

The consultation period for the Milton Ulladulla bypass was extended to Sunday 14 February to get a better understanding of how the transport network operates during the peak holiday season. The consultation period for the Jervis Bay Road and Princes Highway intersection upgrade and Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road upgrade closed on Sunday 20 December. Work is now underway to prepare consultation reports, which will explain how feedback has assisted with the development of each project.

We are also carrying out additional traffic data collection throughout Milton, Ulladulla, Burrill Lake and Lake Tabourie over the summer holiday period to assess how the anticipated increase in visitation impacts the transport network.

The preferred strategic corridor for the Milton Ulladulla bypass provides greater connection to town centres when compared to west-of-Burrill Lake bypass options, enabling more traffic to use the bypass during weekday and peak holiday periods while making day-to-day local journeys in and around town centres safer and more reliable.

The location of northern and southern connections to the Princes Highway and the local road network is subject to further investigation and Transport for NSW is currently seeking feedback from the community to inform the next stage of the planning process.”

The need for further highway upgrades south of the bypass will be considered as part of the Burrill Lake to Batemans Bay upgrade project.

For more information on how the preferred option was selected view the preferred strategic corridor option report at nswroads.work/miltonulladullabypass and at Ulladulla Library.

The community is invited to provide their feedback by online survey via Princes Highway upgrade program, email princeshighway@transport.nsw.gov.au and phone (1800 719 759).

The preferred option for the Jervis Bay Road and Princes Highway intersection upgrade and preferred strategic corridor options for Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road upgrade and Milton Ulladulla bypass are on display.

Have your say

The community is invited to have their say until Sunday 20 December 2020. Have your say.

Meet the team

Due oto current health advice, community information sessions will be held online on the following dates:

• Jervis Bay Road intersection, Friday 4 December, 10am to 10.30am;
• Jervis Bay Road to Sussex Inlet Road upgrade, Friday 4 December, 12.30pm to 1pm;
• Milton Ulladulla bypass, Monday 7 December, 2pm to 2.30pm;

Visit www.facebook.com/NSWRoads/events to join us.

What next?

All feedback will be considered as the designs are refined and developed, and environmental assessments are prepared.

Following community feedback, the environmental assessment and concept design for each project will be placed on display for community feedback. We will keep the community updated as planning and development for each project progresses.

Transport has released its 20 year plan for the Princes Highway. It identifies what needs to be done now and into the future to deliver a safe, reliable, efficient and connected network for all transport users.

What is the vision?

The highway would enable the movement of people and goods and supports sustainable growth of the local economy, employment opportunities and population. It would contribute to the character of the places it serves and is resilient to adapt to natural hazards and climate change, respond to changing land use and supports new technologies, new industries and economic trends.

View the Roadmap 2040 for more information.

Contracts have been awarded for the strategic investigation and design for five sections of highway proposed to be upgraded between Jervis Bay Road, Falls Creek, and Moruya.

The Princes Highway upgrade between Jervis Bay Road and Sussex Inlet Road, Burrill Lake and Batemans Bay and Jervis Bay Road intersection, Milton Ulladulla bypass. and Moruya bypass projects have moved ahead to the next planning phase as part of our commitment to deliver a safer Princes Highway.

Contracts have been awarded to:

• Jervis Bay Road intersection upgrade - Arcadis Australia Pacific Pty Ltd
• Jervis Bay to Sussex Inlet upgrade – Cardno (NSW/ACT) Pty Ltd
• Milton Ulladulla bypass - Arcadis Australia Pacific Pty Ltd
• Burrill Lake to Batemans Bay upgrade – AECOM Australia Pty Ltd
• Moruya bypass – Arup Australia Pty Ltd

These upgrades aim to address over 300 crashes on these sections of the highway since 2014.

Transport for NSW is removing high risk trees on the Princes Highway to deliver a more bushfire resilient highway network. Trees at risk of falling or impacting the road network during or after a bushfire will be identified for removal. The tree removal work aims to help prepare communities for future bushfire seasons, improve evacuation routes and get people and freight moving quicker on the highway and surrounding roads following a bushfire.

Our team will only remove high risk trees and environmentally sensitive areas will be carefully assessed and impacts to local wildlife will be minimised. Aboriginal culture and heritage will also be respected and carefully assessed as part of this process.

The community will start to see high risk trees marked for removal from early August.