MUNIBUNG Road's missing link will be completed and open by the middle of next year, Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser said on Friday when turning the first sod on the long-awaited project.
The 820-metre road extension will link Boolaroo with Cardiff's industrial estate, which Cr Fraser said would improve the connectivity of the city's northern and western suburbs.
The $5.17 million project is part-funded by a $2.27 million grant from the federal government's Building Better Regions Fund. Liberal Senator for NSW, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, said the road extension was a prime example of what the fund was set up for.
"It's completion will immediately provide faster, smoother and safer journeys for road users, benefiting local business and laying a foundation for future growth," she said.
Cr Fraser said the extension was integral to future development in the city's North-West Catalyst Area.
She said without the NSW government's recent acquisition of the former Pasminco smelter site the road runs through, work would not be starting so soon.
"This is a regionally significant infrastructure project that will unlock business investment, commercial development and housing opportunities, supporting growth in this region," she said.
"It has taken a significant amount of work to get to this point and we acknowledge the Australian government's patience and the support of the NSW government to reach a solution.
"We are working with the Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation and interested developers to realise the full potential of this site, now that the ownership has been transferred to the NSW government."
Lake Macquarie City Council recently lodged a planning proposal to rezone land at the former Pasminco site to clear the way for large-scale retail developments.
Costco and IKEA have been speculated as potential suitors for land at the site, but neither has confirmed whether they will establish a presence in the area.
"I'm pretty hopeful, they did put their toe in the water before," Cr Fraser said, referring to options the two companies previously had on land.
"I understand they're very keen on this site.
"They know this is a strategic location to have something like a Costco and IKEA here. It ticks all the boxes."
