NEW RICHMOND BRIDGE
I am pleased to see the detail of the new Richmond Bridge plan and for people to give feedback to Transport for NSW (TfNSW).
I attended the online session last Wednesday and Saturday’s in person information session, and value greatly the opportunity to hear people’s views.
This is a plan that delivers a high-level river crossing, reduces congestion, and this latest design might actually deliver a 21st century bridge across the Hawkesbury River.
However, it does not come within the budget allocated by the previous Liberal Government. The shortfall for this project is the consequence of poor planning by Liberals and back of the envelope costings.
Scott Morrison announced $200 million for the bridge leading into the 2019 election, vastly underestimating the cost. He was forced to double the federal contribution in 2021, and now we know that still leaves a shortfall. This is the mess from the Liberals that we are cleaning up.
People in Southee Rd deserve to have their quality of life protected, and I’ll be supporting them in that objective. I have requested TfNSW provides an information session on the Richmond side of the river.
Upgrading of the North Richmond Terrace/Bells Line/Grose View roads intersection is also an essential part of the design.
Projects of this scale are funded over a number of years, and I’ll be working with my government and the NSW Government to ensure there is no delay in the completion of the entire project.
I started this process, to build a bridge, and I won’t stop until that project is properly completed.
I encourage people to provide their feedback on the plan known as the Review of Environmental Factors by Friday 21 February 2025.
A face-to-face session will also be held 4pm-6pm on Wednesday 5 February at the North Richmond Community Centre. Further details are https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/current-projects/new-richmond-bridge-stage-2.
ENDS
