Time to rethink underpass - without Holstein

I could hardly restrain myself after re-reading Chris Holstein's comments over the Rawson Rd rail crossing (Peninsula News, January 29) and his call for the resurrection of the Woy Woy underpass.

Mr Holstein's insight over why the project failed whilst he was the Member for Gosford is nothing short of breathtaking.

He blames the State Government for picking a cost-prohibitive solution to the problem as if this was some conspiracy to can the project.

In my view, the truth is that whilst Mr Holstein was the Member for Gosford and had carriage of this project, he and his colleagues grossly underestimated the budget for the project in the first instance, failed to properly assess the scope of works required, did not properly consult with the relevant agencies and then dumped the project on poor old Gosford City Council who really didn't want anything to do with the underpass from the outset.

If Mr Holstein and his then Liberal colleagues in the State Government at the time had properly scoped, assessed and costed the project from the outset, we would not have wasted the $15 million already spent on a pedestrian underpass that hardly anyone uses and pre-works at the base of Bulls Hill that serves as a constant reminder of not what to do when planning major projects.

It's a bit rich for Mr Holstein to criticise his former Liberal colleagues and easy to blame others when he should be taking the responsibility himself.

The Woy Woy underpass option is a dead duck.

Time to re-think an alternative underpass options at the Rawson Rd rail crossing.

But please Mr Holstein, leave it to the experts.

Email, 19 Feb 2018

Matthew Wales, Umina