Meeting the many challenges of Heathcote Road

Transport for NSW Chief Operations Officer Howard Collins said work is powering ahead on the Heathcote Road bridge upgrade as Sydney’s unprecedented wet weather triggers land movement causing damage to other areas on Heathcote Road.



“Cracking caused by water-related ground movement following record rainfall was detected in the westbound lane of Heathcote Road east of the Woronora River at the start of July, forcing a closure of the westbound lane,” Mr Collins said.



“Since the discovery of the cracking, further movement has taken place, which indicates significantly unstable ground conditions for vehicles to travel on.



“To ensure the safety of motorists and workers remediation works can only go ahead after the slope is found to have remained stable for two consecutive weeks, which is dependent on weather conditions and is likely to take months.



“Maintenance crews face challenging working conditions along a steep and heavily vegetated site.



“The westbound lane can only reopen once remedial works are complete and the road is safe once again.”



Howard Collins said Transport for New South Wales will carry out maintenance work this week at five other sites along Heathcote Road, between New Illawarra Road and the Princes Highway.

“The work on Heathcote Road will increase safety and seek to prevent future damage due to weather or traffic impacts,” Mr Collins said.



“The work will be carried out overnight to minimise disruption to road users and won’t be carried out on Saturdays or public holidays.”



While the situation is highly challenging, Transport for NSW has identified a way to take advantage of the disruption.

Howard Collins said work is being accelerated on the Heathcote Road bridge upgrade project.



“We don’t want to disrupt motorists more than we have to, so while the lane is closed for the emergency repairs we are going utilise the closure and increase concrete pours, rock cutting and drilling for the new bridge. This will reduce future disruption on Heathcote Road from the bridge upgrade project,” Mr Collins said.



“It’s important to emphasis that the issues with Heathcote Road are entirely due to the extreme wet weather and have been replicated elsewhere on the Sydney Road network.”



Transport for NSW will keep the community and stakeholders updated via social media, website updates, electronic signage and Live Traffic updates.



For the most up to date information on detours in place, visit livetraffic.com



For the latest information on emergency repairs to Heathcote Road visit https://nswroads.work/heathcoteworks



Transport for NSW thanks the community for their patience while we continue to work to repair the road as quickly and safely as possible.

Media contact: (02) 8265 6555