Labor branch condemns rail crossing decision

The Woy Woy Branch of the Australian Labor Party has condemned the NSW Government's decision to scrap the Rawson Rd level crossing replacement project.

Woy Woy Branch secretary Ms Belinda Neal said the branch was also critical of the Government's failure to determine a new viable alternative plan almost four months after the decision to scrap an overpass or underpass was made.

"The failure is a direct result of the announcement made in 2011, without due diligence, by the former Liberal Member for Gosford, which caused a blowout of the project to $110 million," Ms Neal said.

'The result is the wasted expenditure of $16 million without a solution to this long-term problem," she said.

"This has been spent on a rarely used pedestrian underpass and earth works for the scrapped project.

"We call on the NSW Liberal government to immediately prepare new designs for a replacement rail crossing at Woy Woy and to allocate the funding necessary to finalise the project.

"This failure is a risk to the lives of our residents as demonstrated a fortnight ago with the death of an elderly resident on the level crossing.

"It also is a block to traffic flow and a cause of congestion on the Peninsula.

Media release, 15 Feb 2017

Belinda Neal, Woy Woy Branch of the Australian Labor Party