Traffic along the M1 Princes Motorway increased 20 per cent during last year’s Bulli Pass closure.
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It’s a worrying statistic with the second closure of the pass starting on Monday at 9am.
The pass will be closed for 10 weeks, until November 3, to allow for the remainder of the rock fall fencing to be installed..
During the closure the M1 and Lawrence Hargrave Drive will be the alternate routes.
Roads and Maritime Services said traffic was split almost equally between the two routes, with the M1 taking 56 per cent of the Bulli Pass traffic.
“Traffic volumes on the M1 at Mount Ousley reached around 60,000 per day during the stage one Bulli Pass closure, which is an increase of around 20 per cent above the daily average,” an RMS spokesman said.
Two truck accidents along the M1 during the first closure caused traffic headaches for drivers.
The RMS spokesman said these accidents were taken into account when planning for the second closure.
“During the first closure tow trucks, emergency patrols and traffic commanders were on standby to respond and clear incidents quickly and reduce the impact on traffic flow on the detour routes,” the spokesman said.
“RMS, NSW Police and emergency services have reviewed traffic management plans taking into account the experience of 2016 and have refined operations by targeting locations, resources and logistics for the 2017 closure.
“These resources will be in place again during the second closure so the traffic network can operate as efficiently as possible.”