An upgrade to the busy Five Islands Road will be the front door for the expected 30,000 workers who will make the daily commute to their future offices on what is now surplus land around the BlueScope steelworks.
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On Tuesday, April 30, NSW roads minister John Graham announced the state government will spend $500,000 to plan the future transport network that will allow workers and visitors to access part of the 200 hectares of land that will be transformed.
The funds will go towards planning the intersections connecting the existing public roads to the site, as well as internal roads and public transport.
"The transport planning will focus on that front door question, some of those key intersections such as Five Islands Road, but we'll then look at public transport and accessibility to the site more generally, to really match the ambition of the masterplan," Mr Graham said.
The masterplan, released last year, covers 200 hectares of land in and around the steelworks, including the old No 1. Works, the Commonwealth Rolling Mills and the land known as the horse paddock east of Springhill Road.
So far, BlueScope has signed a memorandum of understanding with TAFE NSW, and local energy storage startup Green Gravity will use part of the site, but further details beyond dramatic artist's impressions are yet to be released.
BlueScope has said the company would retain 70 per cent of the existing building floor space, ensuring that the site's industrial heritage is not lost, and retain 60 per cent of the site as parklands.
The ASX-listed steelmaker is targeting 2028 - the 100 year anniversary of steelmaking in the Illawarra - as a milestone year to launch the first stage of the redevelopment.
Planning minister and Wollongong MP Paul Scully said the scale of the project was unrivalled.
"This is probably the largest land transformation of its type in the world at this present time, the largest one we'll see in the world for some time into the future, and it's important that we get it right," he said.
The transport planning work will take place until the end of the year, with works to follow. While this will include public transport changes, Minister Graham did not commit to immediately increasing frequencies on the Port Kembla train line.
"This will be the start of transport planning," Mr Graham said.
"The most urgent set of questions is how to open the site up and that focuses on Five Islands Road."
