A successful contractor is expected to be appointed for the Ocean Drive Duplication project soon, with construction anticipated to start in the second half of 2022. To be delivered in partnership between Council and Transport for NSW, the 3.4 kilometre upgrade will support jobs and boost the local economy.

The first stage will make it easier to travel between Greenmeadows Drive and Matthew Flinders Drive. A future stage will deliver improved connectivity by providing a shared user path and provisions for on-road cyclists, as well as koala exclusion fencing and a dedicated fauna underpass.

Ocean Drive forms part of Council's Draft Corridor Strategy, which is currently out on public exhibition. It considers a number of short, medium and long-term strategies for Hastings River Drive, Ocean Drive and Kendall Road - a network covering 54km of road through towns and villages along the coast, and then inland to Kew and Kendall.

You can comment further on this north-south road network by heading to Council's Have Your Say webpage The Draft Road Corridor Strategy.

Finally, work is also set to commence in the second half of 2022 on the construction of a parallel taxiway and pavement renewal works at Port Macquarie Airport.

Identified as a key infrastructure upgrade in the Port Macquarie Airport Master Plan 2010, Council has been working through the planning and detailed design pre-construction phase of the project since 2017. The upgrades will improve aerodrome safety, efficiency and compliance and reduce runway occupancy times for light aircraft when taxiing prior to take-off and following landing.

For the time being, larger passenger aircraft will continue to taxi to and from the terminal building on the runway, with future stages planned to ultimately cater for all aircraft as the Airport continues to develop to support our rapidly growing Port Macquarie - Hastings region.