Battleground !

The last remaining great access highway to be built in Sydney is the " missing link " that will enable motor traffic from inner Sydney to Wollongong and the South Coast.  It was termed the " F-6 " when the section linking Waterfall and Sydney was constructed decades ago.  What remains to be built is the multi-lane, divided road corridor linking Waterfall with the inner city at St Peters.

There is absolutely no doubt that whatever plans are put forward for this section will spark major controversy because there are two options for that section between Waterfall and Loftus.  One would require the acquisition of about four hundred homes and commercial properties and their demolition - at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.    The other would involved the acquisition of sixty hectares of the Royal National Park - at a cost of about forty million dollars.

To any reasonable person the answer to that question is clear.   The Royal National Park is a mighty expanse of native vegetation covering sixteen thousand hectares.  It - and a similar National park to the north - are often described as the " lungs of Sydney ".   Slicing off a mere sixty hectares would seem insignificant, but the ecology lobby will not see it that way.

" The Royal " is the second oldest national park in the world and was established after America's Yellowstone National Park.  Botanists report that it contains the richest concentration of plant species in temperate Australia and it was placed on the National Heritage List in 2006.  It is expected that the ecology lobby will strenuously fight this acquisition proposal.

Hopefully, the government will stand firm because the higher the cost the longer the delay before this important piece of infrastructure becomes a reality, and this is not breaking new ground.  The existing Princes Highway was established on land taken from the Royal National Park and the divided road F-6 extension between Waterfall and Wollongong is also on land that was formerly part of the park.  If anything, these roads allow travellers to get a view of this magnificent scenery which is otherwise only visible from aircraft passing overhead.

The less contentious part of the new F - 6 is the section from Loftus to St Peters and that passes through Miranda, Taren Point, Sans Souci and Brighton to reach the inner city.   Some of this corridor is already reserved but there will be a degree of acquisition and demolition and most residents have known that this must eventually become a reality.   It is unlikely to generate the flak concentrated on that National Park acquisition.

Another coming point of contention will be road tolls. No doubt this new work will be subjected to a toll, but the divided road from Waterfall to Wollongong had a toll for decades and this was lifted when the work was paid for.  But that is a battle to be fought when this new road becomes a reality !