Jamberoo Mountain Road will again be closed for repairs after a landslide in 2024. Photo: Kiama Council.
Less than a year after a 12-month closure of Jamberoo Mountain Road, it will again be closed for further landslide repair works.
Kiama Council will close the road from Wednesday 7 May for about five weeks to allow repairs to a damaged section above The Abbey.
It will be closed from Mondays to Saturdays, between 9 am and 4 pm.
The five-week closure is required for repairs to about 20 metres of road damaged by a landslide last year.
The key connection between Kiama and Robertson was closed for almost a year after severe weather caused dangerous landslips in 2022.
When it reopened in July 2023, council warned there was no guarantee it would remain open due to the instability of the escarpment.
Council’s Infrastructure and Liveability director Michael Malone said at the time it was “quite possible” sections of the road could again fail if similar storms to those in 2022 hit the area.
In January this year, NSW Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison met with council to discuss the future of Jamberoo Mountain Road.
Council is keen for the NSW Government to take over management of the road, which has cost $13 million to repair over the past four years.
Kiama Mayor Cameron McDonald said council had been advocating since September 2022 for the road to be reclassified from a regional road to a state road.
“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,” he said.
Council is yet to receive a response from the government on the reclassification.
Council said the upcoming closure days and times were arranged to minimise the impact on local residents and businesses.
The road will be open outside of work hours, with one lane closed at the worksite.
Picton Road and Kangaroo Valley are alternate routes during the closure times, and drivers are reminded that road work will also close Macquarie Pass at nights, between 28 April and mid July.
Council advises motorists to visit Live Traffic for updates before planning a trip.
