High-level discussions focus on Jamberoo Mountain Road

The state’s Minister for Regional Transport and Roads has travelled to Kiama to discuss the future of Jamberoo Mountain Road, with hopes the meeting was a step closer to the NSW Government taking over management of the unreliable connection.

Minister Jenny Aitchison met with Kiama Municipal Council Mayor Cameron McDonald and senior staff to talk about the ongoing burden of the key piece of infrastructure, which has been a constant expense for the council and a disruption to surrounding communities and businesses.

“We were able to openly and frankly discuss the troubled recent history of the road, with the increasing number of extreme weather events destroying sections of the road, putting it out of use for significant periods of time,” Cr McDonald said.

Extreme weather forced the closure of the road for an entire year between 2022 and 2023 as vital works were undertaken to stabilise the area to ensure it was safe for traffic, but despite the extensive work undertaken during that time, other areas along the road have since experienced further damage and collapse which has led to additional disruptions.

The repairs from the past four years have cost $13 million, and while disaster funds and government support have helped complete the work, the economic impact has extended beyond the work itself, with small local businesses experiencing additional hardships from being cut off from neighbouring communities and important traffic being diverted or reduced.

“The hidden costs for our small council lies in managing these large and extended engineering projects,” Cr McDonald said.

“Significantly, there are costs to our community and local economy while Jamberoo Mountain Road has been closed.

“That’s money and associated social costs you cannot recoup.”

For more than two years, the council has attempted to get the state government to take responsibility of the road due to the ongoing expenses for the small, financially strained council and importance of the road for two local government areas, not just Kiama.

“Council has been advocating since September 2022 that Jamberoo Mountain Road should be reclassified from a regional road to a state road,” Cr McDonald said.

“Our message to the minister was, while we have been able to get the road reopened each time, the size of this commitment in the long term is beyond the capabilities of a small council such as ours.”

The bid has received backing from Kiama MP Gareth Ward who advocated for the release of a Regional Road Transfer and Road Classification Review which was formed from submissions by more than 500 councils and presented to the previous state government in 2022.

But an enquiry by Region last year stated that the Regional Road Transfer and Road Classification Program was being deferred in favour of a new Emergency Road Repair Fund.

Now there’s new hope that a transfer could still be on the cards.

“It is refreshing and very much appreciated that the minister could visit Kiama to discuss this incredibly important issue face-to-face with us,” Cr McDonald said.

“A draft reclassification report is to be imminently released by the NSW Government to which council will have the opportunity to make representations.”

It comes as the council undertakes the first ever comprehensive survey of its entire road network. This will help determine the most appropriate expenditure of close to $4.5 million in betterment funding being provided by the NSW Government to make long-term improvements to help them better withstand severe storms and flooding.

The survey will be conducted using vehicle-mounted technology that captures high-definition images, GPS and roughness data every 10 metres, to produce a condition rating across all roads within Kiama Council’s jurisdiction, which is about 280 kilometres of road from Riverside Drive in the north to Crooked River Road in the south, Blowhole Point Road in the east and Jamberoo Mountain Road to the west.

The survey vehicle will travel like any other car and is not expected to disrupt motorists or residents.