The historic Hampden Bridge will be closed for night work. Photo: NSW Government.
Hampden Bridge will be closed to all traffic for a number of nights to continue repair work on the historic Kangaroo Valley structure.
The work will replace damaged elements of the timber truss along the bottom of the bridge.
The bridge will be closed from 8 pm to 4 am on Sunday 19 April and from 6 pm to 6 am from Monday 20 to Thursday 23 April, weather permitting.
Motorists will need to detour via the Illawarra Highway at Macquarie Pass and the Princes Highway, adding up to 90 minutes to travel times.
The current night closures of Macquarie Pass will be on hold while the bridge is closed.
Pedestrians will be able to cross the bridge during work under the guidance of traffic control.
Heavy vehicles have been banned from using the 1898 bridge since May 2025 to relieve pressure on the structure.
Transport for NSW (TfNSW) said at the time that extensive monitoring and testing of the historic bridge had revealed “significant wear and tear getting harder to predict”.
The NSW Government said the move to ban vehicles over 23 tonnes (previously 42.5 tonnes) would reduce the amount of maintenance work required on the timber-decked suspension bridge.
In its April community newsletter, TfNSW said a complex program of work to repair and replace damaged elements on the bridge started in January.
The work involves replacing 12 timber beams along the bottom of the truss, nine timber beams along the top of the truss and 12 steel hanger bars that connect the main cable to the bridge deck.
It is expected to be completed late 2026 and TfNSW will then reassess the load limit restrictions to determine if the 42.5 tonne limit can be reinstated.
TfNSW is assessing the long-term requirements for the full repair, strengthening and heritage restoration of the bridge.
“Planning for a temporary bridge is also progressing at the same time in case it is needed to provide temporary access during restoration. The temporary bridge would only be used as a temporary crossing if extended bridge closures are needed and will not be in place permanently,” Transport says on its website.
“Concurrently, planning for a potential permanent long-term solution for crossing the Kangaroo River is underway, with the NSW Government allocating $500,000 for early investigations.
“We expect to identify a preferred solution and exhibit a draft feasibility study report for community feedback in mid-2026.”
Further night work will be carried out on the bridge on Friday 24 April from 7 pm to 4 am, weather permitting. However, the bridge will remain open with stop/slow traffic control in place.
From Monday 27 April, work will continue from 7 am to 6 pm on weekdays, weather permitting.
During daytime work the bridge will remain open to traffic under stop/slow traffic control, with a reduced speed limit of 10 km/h for trucks and buses.
For more information about work at Hampden Bridge visit Live Traffic.
