Hunter Expressway
The Hunter Expressway was a great achievement, but the work cannot end there. We've reaped the benefits of the project but associated problems continue to weigh on our city. Local traffic volumes have increased, from Cliftleigh to Millfield. Local roads have become the equivalent of highways causing problems for local residents. Council now has maintenance expenses partly unforeseen. Share-riding strategies have created car parks in less than ideal places.
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These problems will need a package of solutions. One such solution will be a ring-road on the edges of the Cessnock township. The Council has appropriately adopted a design concept for a Cessnock ring-road. It would pick-up somewhere near the Kearsley railway crossing, head west behind Cessnock High School, cross Vincent Street (South) and Wollombi Road near Bellbird, track around behind Cessnock and the Correctional Centre, turn right to run eastward and North of Nulkaba and then cross Wine Country Drive, track North of East Cessnock and eventually, find Old Maitland Road and link up with the Hunter Expressway via a new interchange near Sawyers Gully. The ring-road would allow traffic leaving and re-entering our expanding new housing estates morning and afternoon to do so without travelling through the CBD or its proximity. Obviously Cessnock Council hasn't the financial resources to further progress the ring-road plan and State Member Clayton Barr and I stand ready to do everything we can to help Council bring the project to fruition. As each year passes it will be needed more.
Singleton traffic
Another significant road issue which affects many Cessnock residents is the Singleton traffic nightmare. One sure way to delay spending money is to delay a project and that is exactly what the NSW Government has been doing with respect to the Singleton project. The Commonwealth Government has no technical body like the RMS. It relies on State Governments to determine priorities and to design the solutions. The Federal Government can't assist in the funding of projects that don't yet exist.
Out of frustration with the failure of the NSW Government to progress the Singleton bypass, prior to the recent federal election, I persuaded my own team not wait any longer and to promise $250 million up-front in the hope of making the NSW Government give more urgency to the Singleton project. Each morning I wake up to the ABC's local pre-6am news local traffic report and the RMS spokesperson usually begins his overview by reporting on the Singleton situation. The irony is that the traffic congestion is caused largely by the economic activity the coal mining industry provides, the same industry which puts so much money in to the NSW Government's coffers.
In good news for the area's mobile network coverage issues, Telstra proposes to install mobile base stations at McCully's Gap near Muswellbrook and at Howes Valley under Round 4 of the Mobile Blackspot Program. Inadequate mobile coverage and data speeds are a significant issue for people living, working and travelling in the Hunter. Feedback on the proposed sites of the base stations can be given at https://www.communications.gov.au/what-we-do/phone/mobile-services-and-coverage/mobile-black-spot-program
Cessnock View Club
Last week Cessnock View Club celebrated its 54th birthday with a luncheon at Cessnock Leagues Club. I congratulate Cessnock View Club on the positive contribution its members make to our community including the sponsorship of eight Learning for Life Students. A highlight of the celebration was the presentation of a service badge for 50 years' membership to Cessnock's June Lennard. I congratulate June on her incredible achievement and all the Cessnock View Club Members on the longevity and success of their club.
