North Nowra Link Road

The North Nowra Link Road plan has been around since I was a wee little girl 1974 to be exact.

The plan has been hotly contested since the 1980s as a route started to crystallise, Shoalhaven City Council created 3 options that all cut through the Bomaderry Regional Park, Southern, Central and Western.
 The Central according to council gave the best cost benefit outcome and suposedly would help ease traffic conditions at the infamous intersection where Illaroo Road meets the Princes Hwy.

The central route however has the worst environmental outcome as it ploughs through the centre of the park and through habitat of the irreplaceable Bomaderry Ziera ( one of the threatened species that calls the park home). Campaigners, Terry Barratt and Robin Moyes would have to be THE community experts on this issue, over the years they have split the tasks Terry taking on the environmental aspects and Robin the traffic aspects.

In one of the turn arounds of the century and a very clever politcail move by now Mayor Jo Gash, saw Jo Gash rescind her previous pledge of support for the central route and shift to the less damageing western route. This route is more pallatable to campaigners- it has more tree loss but doesnt interfere with the critical habitat.

So when a report came to Council in regards to The Friends of Bomaderry Creek petition saying no to the central route- it was time to take some decisive action and start the ball rolling to abandon the central route once and for all.

Of course this was going to be a rocky road- Clr Watson was not going to let go easily after 30 years of beleiving in this project. First their was the recission motion on the committee recommendation- then there was the recission on the Ordinary meeting recommendation. All of that in a hail storm of he- said- she said- politicking and it seems that final a resolution of Council to support the west Cambewarra Parrallel alignment will be taken to the Planning Minister.

So its a win- hard to tell if its a lasting one but at least its been a statement of committment to getting a better outcome for Bomaderry Regional Park.