State Member for Kiama Gareth Ward said the 50/50 funding of the Shoalhaven River Bridge, confirmed on June 18, was “a great result”, but wanted to see more of it. 

To see the new bridge completed, both the state and federal governments have committed $155 million to the project. 

“I like building bridges. This is a great result for both the Commonwealth and state governments and I want to see more of it further south,” Mr Ward said.

“We have seen 80/20 funding on the Pacific Highway, but all of the money spent on the Princes Highway of late has come from the state.

“We need more of these partnerships to make our roads safer.”

Mr Ward said “unprecedented” levels of money had been allocated by the NSW Government to the Princes Highway on the South Coast. 

He added the bridge project was a “must do” 

“The bridge is 137 years old. We needed a new bridge,” he said. 

“We just couldn’t allow the people of Nowra to be reduced to just one bridge between Bomaderry and Nowra. It was important to future proof Nowra, Bomaderry and communities further south.”

Mr Ward said he had worked closely with South Coast MP Shelley Hancock to secure money for Princes Highway upgrades. 

He said they had delivered a “record spend” on the road, but wanted to see the highway duplication continue past the Jervis Bay turn off. 

“To make the duplication happen further south, we need to see more of these funding partnerships with the Commonwealth,” he said. 

“Getting the highway upgraded was one of the reasons I stood for Parliament. I would have now completed the duplication of the highway in my entire electorate, but I recognise there are communities further south that need these contributions also.”

Mr Ward said the state Labor government had “opposed” measures to finance highway upgrades. 

“Labor have opposed in Parliament funding for these projects,” he said. 

“They have opposed every single measure to raise funds to finance these projects.”