New Nowra Bridge on NSW Princes Highway becomes Priority Project

Following a rigorous business case assessment, Infrastructure Australia has declared the New South Wales Government’s proposal to build a new on the Princes Highway over Shoalhaven River a Priority Project and will be included in the Infrastructure Priority List.

“We are pleased to announce that the Nowra Bridge Project has been added to the Infrastructure Priority List as a Priority Project. Infrastructure Australia’s assessment of the business case found the project to be a sound investment that would support expected increase in local, regional and tourist traffic, and allow for more efficient movement of freight on the Princes Highway, the main north-south link between Sydney and southern NSW,” Infrastructure Australia Chief Executive Romilly Madew said.

The project will include the construction of a new four-lane bridge over the Shoalhaven River at Nowra. The new bridge will be located west of the two existing bridges and it will cater to northbound traffic, enabling the existing northbound bridge to be used for traffic heading southbound to the South Coast. The existing southbound bridge - which was built in 1881 - will be transformed for community use.

“The existing bridges at Nowra carry more than 50,000 vehicles each day, with the southbound bridge in particular experiencing significant congestion in both the morning and afternoon peaks.

“Another key constraint on freight traffic is the fact that the existing southbound bridge cannot carry vehicles that are more than 4.6 metres tall of Higher Mass Limit B-Double vehicles. Instead, over-sized vehicles have to use the northbound bridge with police escort, which closes access for northbound traffic and adds to congestion along the corridor,” Ms Madew said.

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Source: Infrastructure Australia (1, 2); Inside Construction; South Coast Register; Roads & Infrastructure Australia; Australia & New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline; Roads & Maritime Services