Milton Ulladulla bypass

From this month, Transport for NSW will be conducting a range of environmental investigations in the Milton and Ulladulla areas, as part of ongoing planning for the Milton Ulladulla bypass project.

Surface water monitoring

The first of these investigations is surface water monitoring and will involve Transport staff taking monthly water samples over the next two years at sites across Milton, Ulladulla, Kings Point, Burrill Lake and surrounding areas, to understand the current water quality of our local creeks and waterways.

Sampling locations have been chosen near the proposed road corridor, as well as further upstream and downstream along surrounding waterways across Milton and Ulladulla.

The information collected as part of these observations will help inform the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Milton Ulladulla bypass.

View the surface water Factsheet here (PDF, 685.98 KB).

Why are we doing this work?

The purpose of the surface water monitoring is to determine baseline water quality for the project across Milton and Ulladulla. The data collected will support the assessment of potential project impacts on waterways as part of the Surface Water Assessment, which will support the EIS. 

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure has issued requirements for the level of assessment as part of the Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs). These requirements include monthly baseline monitoring for an initial two-year period prior to construction and may extend beyond this initial period, potentially continuing into the construction phase.

What other investigations will Transport be carrying out?

Transport will carry out the following studies and investigations as part of the environmental assessment that supports the preparation of the EIS. Upcoming investigations will include:

• survey and utility investigations
• biodiversity studies
• noise logging
• ground water monitoring
• geotechnical investigations
• contamination studies.

During our investigations, you may notice workers and vehicles in the area collecting samples and carrying out monitoring activities across Milton, Ulladulla, Kings Point and surrounding areas.

In some cases, we may need to access private property. If this is the case, Transport will be in contact with property owners to request access.
More information about each type of investigation work will be provided as these details are confirmed.

The most recent series of community engagement activities including Local Access Discussions and pop-up stalls at several community events concluded in April 2025, and we would like to thank all who came along for their valuable feedback.

What we heard

We spoke to hundreds of residents and community members at these events and the feedback we received is being considered as we continue planning and preparing the concept design for the Milton Ulladulla bypass. 

Feedback included ensuring local access connections, minimising impacts to residents during construction and ensuring environmental impacts are minimised. 

How this feedback is being considered as planning continues

Internal planning sessions are being carried out as we continue to explore options to refine the bypass corridor, including identifying intersection locations and treatment types. Investigations to inform the environmental assessment are also ongoing. 

More information about refinements to the bypass corridor, including impacts to properties will be identified as planning continues. Transport for NSW will contact individual property owners within the corridor to provide updates and/or explain any changes.

Transport expects to inform the wider community of these corridor refinements in the coming months.

Transport for NSW hosted a series of pop-up stalls and community drop-in sessions between February and April 2025 to give the wider community the opportunity to talk to the Milton Ulladulla bypass project team and ask any questions.

Details of these events are as follows:

• Milton Show, Milton Showground - Saturday 8 March from 8:30am
• Farmers at Burrill markets, Lions Park, Burrill Lake – Friday 4 April, 4pm – 6pm
• Blessing of the Fleet festival, Ulladulla Fishermans Wharf – Sunday 20 April, 9am – 6pm

We also held a series of local access discussions during February and March with residents and landowners in specific locations along the Milton Ulladulla bypass corridor.

These discussions were by invitation only and are helping to inform the Local Access Strategy, currently being developed as part of the concept design and environmental assessment. 

We have already held discussions with residents and landowners at Little Forest Road and Kings Point Drive and invitations will be issued to relevant residents and landowners at additional locations as details are confirmed.

The $940 million Milton Ulladulla bypass project will provide a bypass of the Milton and Ulladulla town centres, delivering safer and more reliable journeys on the NSW South Coast as part of the Princes Highway upgrade program. It is identified as a priority project in Transport’s 20-year plan.

The project was announced in May 2019 and community consultation in 2020 and 2021 helped inform the development of the preferred strategic corridor options. 

In July 2022, the corridor identified in Shoalhaven City Council’s Local Environment Plan (LEP) was confirmed as the preferred corridor for the bypass.

Since then, development and planning activities have continued and in December 2024, the contract for development of the concept design and environmental assessment was awarded to Aurecon Australasia Pty Ltd.

The Milton Ulladulla bypass aims to significantly reduce travel times and ease congestion, particularly during peak holiday periods.

The bypass will improve the liveability and appeal of Milton and Ulladulla town centres, while providing a safe, efficient and reliable road network. It will also improve access for locals and tourists and will help promote urban development, bringing significant benefits to road users and communities on the NSW South Coast.

Benefits of a bypass include:

• improved safety for all road users
• improved traffic efficiency, reduced congestion and better connectivity to support economic development, tourism and freight movements
• improved network resilience for more reliable journeys
• enhanced liveability and amenity of Milton, Ulladulla and connected communities.\

Planning for the bypass is continuing, and includes the development of the concept design and environmental assessment.

We are and will continue to engage with property owners, businesses and Shoalhaven City Council as part of this phase to gain greater understanding of potential impacts, which will inform refinements to the preferred option.

A timeframe for construction is yet to be confirmed and will be defined as the design process continues.

• September 2022 consultation process and outcomes report
  Burrill Lake Co-Design Committee.
• June 2021 consultation report
  Consultation Summary Report – Preferred Strategic Corridor.
• Preferred strategic corridor option report - November 2020
• Community consultation report
  August 2020.

• August 2025 – Surface water monitoring Factsheet (PDF, 685.98 KB)
• October 2022 - Frequently asked questions about property impacts.
• June 2021 - Commonly asked questions about the project.
• February 2021 – Frequently asked questions about the project
• November 2020 – Frequently asked questions - preferred strategic corridor
• March 2020 - Frequently asked questions about the project

• July 2024 - community update (PDF, 1.05 MB)
• October 2022 - refined corridor
• December 2020 - preferred strategic corridor
• November 2020 - preferred strategic corridor option project update
• November 2020 - preferred strategic corridor option postcard

• October 2022 Refined corridor map
• Identified corridor in Shoalhaven Local Environmental Plan