Threatened bats gone, West Dapto Road works due to finish by Christmas

Key points

• West Dapto Road is expected to reopen to traffic by Christmas, six months behind schedule. The delay was mainly caused by a colony of threatened microbats found in a stormwater culvert, which halted work in May.
• A Microbat Management Plan was put in place in September, and the bats have since moved on, allowing work to resume. Wollongong City Council says more than 86 per cent of the works needed to reopen the road are complete.
• Some residents remain unconvinced and have called for rate relief and greater transparency.