After years of delays, Hawkesbury Council has approved the long-awaited Grose River Bridge project, estimating that construction will take about three years to complete. The controversial bridge is intended to ease the traffic burden caused by the Redbank development and the addition of 1,399 new housing lots west of the Hawkesbury River.

Originally proposed to accommodate increased traffic, the bridge now faces a vastly larger challenge. A decade since its inception, developments in the area have surged, and more than 7,000 new homes planned or seeking approval west of the river- potentially transforming the semi-rural landscape into a sprawling outer suburb of Western Sydney. The full story on the housing developments is available - https://hawkesburypost.com.au/hawkesbury-braces-for-7000-strong-housing-onslaught/ .

Whether the government or planning authorities have adequately accounted for the infrastructure needs of this future population remains unclear.

In a statement, Hawkesbury Council said, “The bridge is being built in partnership between Redbank Communities, Transport for NSW and Hawkesbury City Council as part of a Voluntary Planning Agreement between Redbank and Council.

"The bridge and connecting roads will provide a crossing between Grose River Road at Grose Wold with Springwood Road at Yarramundi. Extensive community consultation has been conducted in the finalisation of this plan.

"With the finalisation of the development application, the project now moves into the land acquisition phase for the new bridge and road. The land acquisition process is expected to take approximately 18 months, with an 18-month construction program commencing soon after, HCC said.

Plans are available on Council’s DA Tracker at https://www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/plan-and-build/current-and-past-applications/da-tracking.