Workers installing additional koala fences along Picton Road. Photo: NSW Government.
Additional koala fencing and warning signs will be installed on Picton, Appin and Heathcote roads in efforts to keep the marsupials safe, especially during breeding season.
Authorities expect more koalas will be moving around during the breeding season which runs from August until the end of summer.
NSW Roads and Regional Transport Minister Jenny Aitchison said the government was committed to koala protection.
“Vehicle strikes are both a tragedy for our threatened wildlife and a safety hazard for motorists, so we need to do more to prevent them through thoughtful improvements to our road infrastructure,” she said.
“Koalas live with us in our suburbs and bring nature into our lives. We have an obligation to protect them and to act as good neighbours.”
On Picton Road between the westbound rest area and Cordeaux Dam Road, 3.5 km of wildlife fencing will be added on both sides of the road to join the existing fence.
The fence extension is part of a $6.3 million project which has delivered widening of the eastbound lane and centre barrier installation. It’s due to be completed by the end of August.
As well, a modified cattle grid, known as a koala grid, has been installed at Cordeaux Dam Road to deter koalas from entering the roadway.
According to the Sydney Basin Koala Network, Appin Road, which runs between Campbelltown and Wollongong, is Sydney’s deadliest road for koala strikes and deaths.
Its 2024 analysis of koala data in southwest Sydney found at least 207 koalas had been struck by vehicles since 1 January 2021.
In response to community feedback, interim koala protection fencing is being installed along about 700 metres of Appin Road near Beulah Reserve.
At Ousedale Creek on Appin Road, construction will begin next year on a koala underpass using a concrete rectangular tunnel (box culvert) and logs. It’s one of three underpasses to be built between Appin and Rosemeadow in partnership with the Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Department.
The underpass will be near the Brian Road intersection and will be supported by grids, fencing and escape poles to allow koalas to climb to safety.
More than a kilometre of fencing is being delivered around Deadmans Creek on Heathcote Road to prevent koalas and other fauna from entering the road between St George Crescent at Sandy Point and Pleasure Point Road at Pleasure Point.
The 1.5 m-high koala fencing has non-climbable sheeting and will connect into existing fencing and safe fauna crossing points under the road.
Access for koalas under the existing Deadmans Creek Bridge will be improved with the installation of repurposed logs to help koalas climb across drainage lines.
A koala grid will also be installed at St George Crescent, along with one-way escape hatches in the fence.
The upgraded wildlife fencing used on the projects is designed to be durable and secure with the use of thick-gauge wire, strong mesh and tie wires installed frequently to provide strength and longevity.
