![FUNDING: Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes. FUNDING: Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/H4rQr3kwJCDkT9nukzGYK/3dcb03e4-c50f-477c-88dd-e46711b1eff0.jpg/r0_984_1987_2249_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Notorious pinch points on Minmi Road will be "prioritised" for upgrade through a $26 million pledge to duplicate parts of the stretch.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The funding, a Labor election promise, was committed via a Lord Mayoral Minute at Tuesday's Newcastle council meeting and is aimed at alleviating congestion for commuters in Wallsend, Maryland, Fletcher and Minmi.
The works will involve widening the bottleneck at Longworth Avenue, Wallsend from one lane to two in each direction and "expediate planning" for widening the road from Maryland Drive, Maryland to Fletcher, with construction to start upon completion of Longworth Avenue.
Greens councillor Charlotte McCabe questioned the move to allocate the priority funding when it was unclear what other projects it was being compared to.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the project had been earmarked in the western corridor developer contributions plan and this would trigger a budgetary process to get the works planned.
IN THE NEWS:
"It's absolutely up to us to bring issues that we think are of critical importance to this chamber," she said.
"You might not know about this issue but it is a priority, particularly for the residents in the western suburbs.
"It's not an allocation of $26 million, it's an allocation to start the project ... It's going to cost a lot more than $26 million to deliver this project in its entirety."
Ward four councillors Deahnna Richardson, Elizabeth Adamczyk and Callum Pull all said the works were overdue, having heard about and experienced significant traffic issues along the road.
![TRAFFIC: Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery, with lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Labor councillors Deahnna Richardson and Elizabeth Adamczyk at Wallsend pledging the $26 million during the council election campaign. TRAFFIC: Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery, with lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Labor councillors Deahnna Richardson and Elizabeth Adamczyk at Wallsend pledging the $26 million during the council election campaign.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/H4rQr3kwJCDkT9nukzGYK/00e93111-ca09-4dbf-bb00-a84ce3a35b72.jpg/r0_3_1200_678_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Greens councillor John Mackenzie supported the motion but had reservations about allocating funding aimed at "correcting what fundamentally was a planning mistake over a period of time to release those housing areas... without providing the appropriate infrastructure to enable people to live in those places".
"Every ward now has to reach into our pockets to put in money to pay for the infrastructure because of the poor planning decisions of the state government," he said.
Cr Nelmes said the volume of traffic means council could make a case for the road being transferred to the state, which would alleviate the cost on council.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark: newcastleherald.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News