Making a holiday trip or commuting down the coast may become a lot quicker and easier come December 2022, when the $550 million Albion Park Rail Bypass could be open to traffic. Road and Maritime Services expects shovels to hit the ground in 2019 and had previously stated that it expects the project to be "completed by 2023".

However, a spokesman on Thursday has said work would now take three years, which would result in a 2022 completion date. Planning approval has been a long time coming, with Roads and Maritime Services expecting it to go as far back as 2016. That three-year construction period would be similar to two other major road projects on the South Coast.

This would be a similar timeframe as the three years it took to complete both the Gerringong stage of the Princes Highway upgrade and the Berry bypass. The bypass has been on the drawing board for more than 20 years and finally passed its last major hurdle this week with state Planning Minister Anthony Roberts signing off on the project.

When completed the bypass will include four lanes - with space in the median to enlarge it to six - that will allow vehicles to travel at 100km/h. The construction time-frame will likely mean work on the Albion Park Rail Bypass and the Berry to Bomaderry stage of the Princes Highway will overlap.

A detailed report will be provided in the May edition of Connections.