Government Bend on the Kings Highway at Clyde Mountain. Photo: Alex Rea.
Coastal commuters and holidaymakers will have to plan their drives around major maintenance and repair work on the Kings Highway at Clyde Mountain from 12 October.
The mountain will be closed in both directions at night between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am, Monday to Thursday for about three weeks from 12 October, weather permitting.
Roadworks will also be carried out during the day between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Thursday, and 6:00 am and 12:00 pm on Fridays.
The burnt forests from the Kings Highway on the Clyde Mountain. Photo: Alex Rea.
Since the summer bushfires there has been a lot of vegetation work to make the highway safe and Transport for NSW will carry out slope stabilisation in response to recent rainfall.
Transport for NSW advises detours for light vehicles will be via the Princes Highway and Nerriga Road and are expected to add up to 75 minutes to journeys. The Nerriga Road also has major works to complete the sealing of the road from Nowra to Braidwood.
Detours for heavy vehicles will be via the Princes Highway, Picton Road, the Hume Highway and Snowy Mountains Highway and are expected to add up to 3.5 hours to journeys.
View west to the Clyde Mountain after the 2020 bushfires. Photo: Alex Rea.
The closures are likely to cause some concern for workers who commute from either side, especially shift workers, including staff at Braidwood hospital.
“There are four staff members who need to drive the Clyde to get to shifts commencing at 0600, 0700, 1300 and 2100, all of whom will be impacted by the new restrictions and may be unable to get to work. It’s a terrible situation for them. They can get to work, with hours spent in their cars going the alternative routes or be stuck at work or unable to get to work.”
Residents from the Araluen Valley have recently reported a serious state of disrepair of the unsealed Araluen to Moruya Road, which is not suitable for any traffic, let alone non-4WD and trucks.
A valley resident told Region Media the road is “pretty dangerous and in a desperate state”.
Damage to the Araluen Road east of the village. Photo: Supplied.
“It’s going to be interesting when they close the Clyde overnight for the three weeks for us folks on the Araluen to Moruya Road. No doubt this road will be used as a sneak to the coast. I do hope that QPRC [Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council] and ESC [Eurobodalla Shire Council] have factored in a strategy. Something bad will happen down here. It’s almost inevitable.
“Truckers, delivery drivers and desperate Canberrans will do almost anything to get to the coast. This road isn’t even suitable for emergency vehicles” they said.
The Araluen Road to Moruya. Photo: Supplied.
On the Clyde, during daytime work hours, traffic control, lane closures and a reduced speed limit of 40 km/h will be in place for the safety of workers and motorists. Delays of up to 10 minutes can be expected.
The road will be open from 12:00 pm on Fridays until 6:00 am on Mondays to allow for weekend traffic.
For the latest traffic updates, you can call 132 701, visit livetraffic.com or download the Live Traffic NSW App.
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