Despite completion of stage one of the Tumbi Road and Central Coast Highway intersection upgrade, the project remains behind schedule and over budget thanks to the Minns Labor Government.
Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch welcomed the completion of the first stage of works but said local commuters would now be forced to endure more traffic and disruption after the project completion date was quietly pushed back from mid-2027 to mid-2028.
“Any progress on this notorious bottleneck is welcome, but the reality is that the first stage of works should have been completed long ago,” he said.
“This congestion-busting project was handed shovel-ready to the Minns Labor Government, yet it’s more than a year late and a million dollars over budget.”
“Instead of being upfront with my community about these delays, they quietly slapped new completion date stickers over the project signs and hoped nobody would notice.”
The intersection upgrade was funded by the former Liberal-National Government as part of a $387 million upgrade to the Central Coast Highway between Wamberal and Bateau Bay.
Mr Crouch said the Minns Labor Government had yet to provide any funding for the wider Central Coast Highway upgrade.
“Without funding in this year’s budget, traffic will only bank up down the road and the 26,000 commuters who use this road every day will continue to be stuck in traffic.”
Shadow Minister for the Central Coast Jacqui Munro said Labor’s record on delivery was leaving Central Coast residents behind.
“The Central Coast continues to be taken for granted by Labor and locals deserve honest answers about why this critical project has not been a priority.”
“Labor have once again failed to deliver a much-needed infrastructure project for the community. Broken promises are a broken record from this government.”