Members of the Tea Gardens-Hawks Nest Overpass Taskforce attended the opening armed with protest signs, to continue their fight for a flyover to be built at the Myall Way intersection.

Section one Karuah to Bulahdelah upgrade of the Pacific Highway involved the construction of 11km of dual carriageway from north of the Karuah Bypass to just north of the Myall Way turnoff, two intersections with local roads, two junctions with the existing highway and four twin bridges.

Work is proceeding on duplicating the remaining two stages of the project as the Australian and New South Wales Governments push ahead with the interim objective of providing continuous four-lane traffic conditions over 380km from Sydney to the Port Macquarie turn-off.

Under AusLink the Australian Government has stated the objective that the entire Pacific Highway corridor between Sydney and Brisbane will be built to four-lane standard by 2016.

The Australian and New South Wales Governments shared the $114 million cost of the project.

Federal Member for Paterson, Bob Baldwin MP said he welcomed the completion of more dual carriageway on the Pacific Highway but a flyover at the Myall Way intersection must be made a priority.

He demanded the State Government prioritise the project immediately.

"The land for a flyover has already been bought but I refuse to sit and wait another 10 to 15 years for this important project.

"We are talking about the safety of motorists and I am not happy with the current Myall Way design," he said.

"Over the next month we will see an influx of motorists using this intersection during the Christmas and New Year break and I want the community to be able to feel safe and confident about their roads.

"The cost of constructing a flyover at this intersection will be enormous in 15 years time compared to what it will cost today," Mr Baldwin said.

"This project must be made a priority and I will stand with the community and fight until it is complete," he said.

Contracts for construction of Stages 2 and 3 of the Karuah to Bulahdelah project were awarded to Abigroup Contractors on September 6 2006 and works should be completed about mid 2009.