Kiama Council has reopened Jamberoo Mountain Road to the public this morning, earlier than the planned reopening on Monday.
A 40km/h speed zone is in place through the repaired areas, while Council undertakes the remaining minor works.
A small number of short closures will be needed in coming weeks to complete these minor works.
The closures will be scheduled to avoid busy traffic times.
Council will provide notifications when these closures are set to occur.
Motorist should also be vigilant for local wildlife that will be unaccustomed to vehicles given the 12-month road closure.
The reopening of Jamberoo Mountain Road is the culmination of Council's $4.8 million Road Repair Construction Program, to restore local roads damaged by storms, flooding and landslides last year.
Mayor Neil Reilly has thanked the people of Jamberoo for their patience during the 12 months taken to repair the road.
Council is holding a community barbecue, in conjunction with the Jamberoo Red Cross, at the Jamberoo RSL tomorrow (Saturday 15 July) from 11am to 12.30pm.
"We know the closure of Jamberoo Mountain Road has had a significant impact on the local community and businesses, especially those who use the mountain for their daily work commute, school run or shopping trip," Cr Reilly said.
"This barbecue is our way of celebrating the return to 'business as usual' and saying thank you for persevering throughout the last year."
"I also want to thank the Council staff and contractors who have done an amazing job given the extent of the damage, the complexities of the repairs needed, and the numerous challenges they met along the way."
"I particularly want to thank the NSW and Australian Governments who have been outstanding in not only providing the disaster relief funding, but also their advice and expertise with such large-scale construction projects."
Jamberoo Mountain Road was badly damaged at four different sites, by flood water and landslips above the road and also below.
The extent of the damage and the challenging geography of the sites meant an extensive amount of investigation, design and preparation before construction could commence.
Director Infrastructure and Liveability Michael Malone said while this may feel like it extended the length of the road closure, it was critical to invest time and effort in coming up with repairs that would last.
Mr Malone said having the right designs was also a critical part of securing the disaster funding.
"As with repairs done in 2020, it was important to spend time getting the investigations done and design right, otherwise we'll be literally back at the drawing board if they fail," Mr Malone said.
"I can assure everyone who normally relies on using Jamberoo Mountain Road, we wasted no time on this project."
"Thanks to this careful planning, rather than simply restoring the damaged sections to what they were before, we've designed them to withstand the sort of storms and flooding we saw last July."
The road has been repaired using a mix of concrete piles anchored into rock to support the road, and soil nails to stabilise the slopes above.
These need first to be custom-designed and fabricated before being installed.
Our contractors manufactured, drilled and filled more than 70 piles to support the downhill sides of the road and 170 soil nails to stabilise the slopes above.
An important part of the project was protecting the surrounding flora and fauna given the conservation status of Jamberoo Mountain.
Material and equipment brought on site were checked to avoid weeds and other potential threats.
Soil was also reused between the various sites to reduce the need for external supplies.
Council has also been working with local conservation groups and landowners to ensure the final restoration and revegetation of the sites.
Kiama Council is currently in discussions with the NSW Government about the future ownership and maintenance of Jamberoo Mountain Road.
Photo: Inspecting the newly repaired Jamberoo Mountain Road - Member for Kiama Gareth Ward MP, Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips MP, Kiama Mayor Cr Neil Reilly and Director Infrastructure Michael Malone
