That Easter Thursday, the next section of the F3 was opened taking it to Freemans Waterhole and spilling National Highway traffic through local streets.

Then a Cessnock City Councillor, Joel Fitzgibbon began the battle with the federal government for the construction of an expressway between the F3 and the New England Highway north of Branxton.

“Over 22 years I’ve been though it all; submissions on route options, meetings with affected land holders and of course, fights with many ministers for the cash. In 1995 I visited the site with the then Transport Minister Laurie Brereton who announced the Keating Government would fund the project.

“I was very happy but within less than a year the Keating Government was gone and despite my protests, John Howard did nothing for 11 years. The original project cost was about $180 million. In the end it was $1.7 billion. How much money could we have saved if they’d just got on with it when they should have?

“My big chance and challenge came with the re-election of a Labor government and I grabbed it. At $1.7 billion it wasn’t easy and a review of the project was a frustrating necessity given the amount of time which had passed since the road’s design and the blow-out in the cost. Thankfully, the review confirmed the Hunter expressway as the best and most cost-effective option for the region.

“The rest is history. The Hunter Expressway will transform our city, providing an economic boost, improving road safety and providing a much needed bypass of a number of communities,” said Mr. Fitzgibbon.