THE state government will begin planning for a potential third crossing of the Hawkesbury River between Richmond and North Richmond, allocating $7 million in the 2018-19 NSW Budget to the project.
Over four years, the state government estimated $25 million would be allocated to the funding, in the Budget that was handed down on June 19.
Member for Hawkesbury and Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said it was a third crossing would improve the lives of many Hawkesbury residents.
"I have advocated strongly for a third crossing on behalf of the Hawkesbury community for a long time and this is a tremendous outcome," Mr Perrottet said via a prepared statement.
"As Treasurer, I get to see first-hand how the work our government is doing in rebuilding NSW is making a real impact at a local level, and I know this bridge will make a big difference for thousands of people.
"You cannot repair and build infrastructure that delivers improvements for communities if you have not built and repaired the budget that funds it."
In the ministerial release, the bridge is billed as a piece of infrastructure that 'will help significantly ease congestion and provide a more flood-resilient route for residents west of the Hawkesbury River and in Richmond and Kurrajong'.
In the Budget Paper No.2 Infrastructure Statement, it is described as a 'New Hawkesbury River Crossing at Richmond'.
"...Funding for project development, to deliver a final business case and undertake consultation for the construction of a Hawkesbury River crossing from Richmond to North Richmond (additional funding of $25 million over four years)," it says in the Budget Paper No.2.
After calls for years from residents for more bridges in the Hawkesbury, 2018 has seen the region suddenly flush with potential and real options.
The state budget also includes $21.5 million for the Windsor Bridge replacement project, which the RMS has said will begin in September.
The highly controversial Bells Line of Road-Castlereagh Connection, could also deliver a potential crossing of the Nepean River and the Grose River near Yarramundi.
Meanwhile, the proposed Navua Reserve bridge, to be built by the North Richmond Joint Venture, the developers of Redbank, in conjunction with Hawkesbury Council and the RMS, is still in the planning phase.