Kings Highway safety upgrade

Work to construct a new overtaking lane on the Kings Highway near Misty Mountain Road west of Nelligen will start from Monday 11 July for nine months, weather permitting. Work hours are 7am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Changed traffic conditions will be in place during work hours for the safety or workers and motorists, including lane closures and a reduced speed limit of 40km/h.

Safety improvement work on the Kings Highway near McCardys Creek west of Nelligen will start from Tuesday 14 June for two months, weather permitting. Work hours are 7am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.

One lane will be closed under a stop/slow traffic control for road lane/shoulder widening and the installation of safety barrier, storm water drainage and asphalt. Traffic control and a reduced speed limit of 40km/h will be in place for the safety of workers and motorists.

The NSW Government has committed $20 million to deliver a program of safety and efficiency upgrades on the Kings Highway.

The Kings Highway links the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) with the NSW South Coast via Bungendore, Braidwood and Nelligen. Within NSW, the Kings Highway is approximately 128 km long and it serves as a primary link to the NSW South Coast for traffic from the ACT and the Snowy Monaro region. The Highway travels through the Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council and Eurobodalla Shire Council local government areas.

The upgrade program will include:

• a new eastbound overtaking lane at Mulloon
• a new eastbound overtaking lane near Misty Mountain Road
• safety treatments including widened centrelines, widened shoulders, roadside safety barrier, and audio-tactile line marking at the following locations:
  • between Bungendore and ACT border
  • west of Mulloon Road
  • along the southern approach to Braidwood
  • north of Northangera Creek Bridge
  • south of Northangera Creek Bridge
  • north of McCardy’s Creek
  • high-friction pavement seal on parts of ‘Clyde Mountain’ to reduce the likelihood of wet weather crashes.

This project is aligned to safety and performance outcomes of Future Transport 2056 as it intends to provide customers with a safer road network and improve the efficient mobility and access of general traffic and road-based public transport along the Kings Highway in terms of improving travel times and level of service.

Future Transport 2056 was released in March 2018 and two of its key objectives will be supported by the program by:

• enhancing the ‘hub and spoke’ transport network for the Global Gateway City of Canberra, as well as the strategic centres of Queanbeyan and Batemans Bay.
• Adopting a Safe Systems approach to the delivery of road safety improvements on the Kings Highway which will directly contribute to achieving the ‘Towards Zero’ target.

Upgraded sections of the Kings Highway will target an AusRAP rating of 3-stars or higher, which is expected to have a 60% reduction in fatal and serious injury crashes and help realise the Towards Zero outcome from NSW Road Safety Plan 2021.

AusRAP is part of a globally recognised Road Assessment Program (RAP).  It is used to assess road attributes that are known to have an impact on the likelihood and severity of a crash. Star assessments range from 1 – 5. Road safety treatments such as separation of opposing traffic by a wide median, audio tactile line marking, sealed shoulders and roadside barrier to protect from hazards such as trees, poles and embankments close to the roadside are measures to increase star ratings and improve road safety.

Overtaking lanes can improve journey time and user experience. The new overtaking lanes will enable safer passing opportunities and reduce the risk of crashes. This will help support regional economic growth by promoting tourism and freight traffic on the Kings Highway.

Safety improvements at the intersection on the Kings Highway near McCardys Creek will take place at two locations, and will include:

• Site A – Shoulder widening on the westbound shoulder 50m from the intersection, including full westbound slow lane resurfacing. Work will also include the installation of stormwater drainage, 300m of flexible roadside barrier and new signage.
• Site B – On the westbound shoulder the existing flexible roadside safety barrier will be extended by 40m eastbound.

By upgrading sections of the corridor to the improved 3-Star AusRAP target, these safety improvements will reduce the frequency of fatal and serious injury crashes on the Kings Highway. They will also improve corridor efficiency for all road users and enhance corridor resilience.

The project includes the delivery of an eastbound overtaking lane, curve realignment, road shoulder widening, Audio Tactile Line-making (ATLM) and the installation of Safety Barrier.

The project aims to contribute to the overall KHUP program objectives of:

• Reducing the frequency of fatal and serious injury crashes on the highway through upgrading sections of the corridor that have existing 1 or 2-Star AusRAP ratings to target 3-Star ratings
• Enhancing corridor resilience to road incidents, natural hazards and during emergency situations
• Improving corridor efficiency for all road users through reduction in journey times and costs

The right turn into Mist Mountain Road from the new eastbound overtaking lane will be permanently removed for the safety of transport customers.