Australian Drilling Attachments

Pennant Street Bridge to create Lower Hunter employment super hub

Lake Macquarie City Council has launched a campaign to help secure funding from the State and Federal governments for the next stage of the Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange, a project aimed at realising Glendale’s planned role as into an employment “super hub” for the Lower Hunter.
 
Mayor of Lake Macquarie, Jodie Harrison, said the next stage of the project would involve building the proposed Pennant Street Bridge over the existing railway line and creating a link between Glendale and Cardiff.
 
“This would result in the creation of at least 6,000 local jobs, unlock 90 hectares of land for new development, and allow for the construction of almost 6,000 new residences.
 
“The Interchange project has already been identified by the NSW Government’s Lower Hunter Regional Strategy 2006-2031 as a high-priority infrastructure project because of its potential to unlock employment growth and improve the connectivity and viability of major centres throughout the Hunter Region.”
 
She described the Pennant Street Bridge as the “missing link” that would confirm Glendale as the employment growth centre for the Lower Hunter due to its central location and links to existing transport infrastructure that connect with Sydney and the rest of the region.
 
“The first stage of the project, which is well under way and due to be completed within this year, will greatly improve access to an important growth corridor in Glendale.
"We recognise the support received so far from Sydney and Canberra,” Cr Harrison said.
 
“However, there is now an urgent need to complete the next step of this important regional project – to build the missing link that will open up Glendale to further business development, further investment and the creation of thousands of new jobs.”
Construction of the Pennant Street Bridge will also assist the local community by cutting travel time between Glendale and Cardiff and reducing local CO2 Pollution from vehicles.
 
Independent studies commissioned by the Council estimated more than 16,000 vehicles would use the proposed bridge every day, including 1,500 trucks, vans and other heavy vehicles.
“The campaign to secure $32 million in funding for the next stage of this project has been backed by local MPs, other councils in the Hunter region and regional business groups, as well as individual businesses such as Stockland, the Hunter Development Corporation, NRMA and the local Chamber of Commerce,” Cr Harrison said.
 
As part of the campaign, Council has submitted a special Budget submission to both the NSW and Federal governments, and arranged direct meetings with key ministers and their advisers.
Council has set up a website to provide residents and businesses with information on the proposed bridge, an update on current works in the area and suggestions on how residents and businesses can have their voices heard.

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