Final Stage of A$6.6 Million Safety Upgrade Begins on Snowy Mountains Highway in Australia

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 16, the final stage of construction began on the A$36 million road safety upgrade program for the Snowy Mountains Highway in New South Wales, Australia. This stage involves an investment of approximately A$6.6 million, with works distributed across multiple sections between Cooma and Yarrangobilly. The main activities include pavement rehabilitation, safety barriers, drainage, shoulder widening, and improvements to intersection turning conditions. Construction is scheduled to last approximately 5 months.

This stage will rehabilitate approximately 1.6 kilometers of highway pavement and widen the Snowy Mountains Highway at the Rhine Falls Road intersection to improve vehicle turning conditions. Approximately 1.5 kilometers of new safety barriers will also be installed along the route, along with drainage system upgrades and clearing of roadside obstacles.

At the Kiandra section, approximately 1 kilometer of new barriers will be installed, 3 culverts will be replaced, and road shoulders will be widened; approximately 5 kilometers of existing barriers between Yarrangobilly and Providence Portal will be upgraded; and approximately 750 meters of new safety barriers will be added between Adaminaby and Middlingbank Road. These works are located at multiple separate construction sites and do not constitute a continuous road widening project.

The overall Snowy Mountains Highway safety upgrade program represents a total investment of A$36 million, jointly funded by the Australian Federal Government and the New South Wales State Government through the Road Safety Program, covering a highway corridor of nearly 330 kilometers from the Hume Highway to the Princes Highway. Earlier works have been progressively implemented on sections including the Monaro Highway to Princes Highway, Tumut to Cooma, and Hume Highway to Tumut.

The highway also serves regional freight and tourist traffic functions, connecting the inland regions of New South Wales with the South Coast, and carries part of the freight traffic from local timber transport to the Hume Highway and to the ports of Sydney and Melbourne. The overall upgrade scope includes rumble strips, widened centerlines, safety barriers, shoulder widening, and treatment of hazardous road locations.

During the final stage of construction, some sections will operate under single-lane traffic and stop-go traffic control, with the speed limit reduced to 40 km/h in construction zones. Standard construction hours are from 6:00 to 18:00 on weekdays, with some Saturdays scheduled for 7:00 to 16:00.