The main section of the long-awaited Nelson Bay Road duplication project is subject to a state government review of infrastructure projects before next month's budget.
Port Stephens MP Kate Washington and Transport for NSW regional director Anna Zycki announced the opening of a one-kilometre strip of upgraded road at Bobs Farm on Thursday.
But the future of an 11km section of "off-line" divided dual carriageway linking Bobs Farm with Williamtown via farm land south of Salt Ash remains up in the air.
"The NSW government is currently undertaking a Strategic Infrastructure Review and any funding decisions will be made clearer in September's NSW state budget," a TfNSW spokesperson said on Thursday.
Ms Washington was a vocal critic of the former Coalition government's lack of action on the duplication project since Liberal premier Mike Baird announced it 10 days before the 2015 election.
The Coalition promised $275 million for the upgrade in 2019 and committed $156.3 million to the project over four years in last year's budget.
The new Minns Labor government announced in May that it would review projects in the capital works pipeline with a value of more than $50 million.
Ms Washington referred questions about the timing of the next stage of the duplication to Transport for NSW, which is working on environmental and technical assessments of the project.
"I'm happy to be here today and seeing the start of the duplication of Nelson Bay Road that's been promised for a long time," she said.
"There's been a lot of promises made by previous premiers, from the previous government, but today we are focused squarely on the future and delivering greater access to Port Stephens and smoother and safer travel."
Asked if the road would be complete in five years, she said: "What I do know is that the preferred route by our community is a complex one and there's a lot of work to be done."
Ms Zycki said TfNSW would provide the community with more information about the environmental impact assessment in the coming months.
She said the department was working with affected landowners along the route to minimise impacts on their properties.
The newly opened 1km section of road is still subject to traffic controls but will open fully to traffic on Wednesday.
