THE Bobs Farm general store fire points to the need to resume the upgrading of Nelson Bay Road Road.

The assessment comes from Port Stephens MP Craig Baumann, who said the fire forced the immediate closure of the road outside the store while emergency services responded.

Vehicle access to and from the Tomaree Peninsula for early morning commuters was disrupted.

"Nelson Bay Road is the only avenue linking the Tomaree Peninsula to the rest of the world and for it to still remain single lanes in 2010 is unacceptable," Mr Baumann said.

He said the government had no funding or construction timetable for widening the road from Bobs Farm to Anna Bay even though the project was announced more than nine years ago.

The longer the government delayed the more expensive the project would become.