Eurobodalla Shire Council moved to support the Fix It Now campaign, and advocate for the Princes Highway to be recognised as a Road of National Significance, at its May 22 meeting.
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Councillor Anthony Mayne said the energy from community, media, all levels of government and the South East Australian Transport Strategy Inc (SEATS) motivated the move.
“There is a lot of energy in this space,” he said. “We as a council have a key role to speak on behalf of residents, and there is a groundswell of community support.”
Councillor Constable said he wanted to see a long-term approach taken to planning and funding the highway – not “band-aid” outcomes.
Councillor Rob Pollock said the biggest barrier to getting funds for the Princes Highway in the past was that it was not categorised as being of national importance. Cr Mayne said the push to have the highway categorised was a strategic one. Infrastructure director Warren Sharpe said other roads had been upgraded without being designated Roads of National Significance.
“SEATS (believes) it is strategically important, and there have been cross-border conversations that support that,” he said. “These are critical issues our community has to deal with every day. The designation is not necessary, but would be helpful.”