The possibility of boring a tunnel up through Brown Mountain is to be discussed further following a resolution at last week's council meeting.
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Councillors resolved to approach Snowy Hydro 2.0 developers to discuss the issues around Brown Mountain and its susceptibility to landslips in rain events.
They also resolved to discuss with them the option of boring a tunnel as an alternate route for the Snowy Mountains Hwy to alleviate the ongoing impacts to the key route.
The Snowy Mountains Hwy at Brown Mountain is currently undergoing repairs and intermittent closures following heavy rain and multiple landslips in March.
Mayor Russell Fitzpatrick has previously flagged that an alternate route needs to be a priority on the agenda for both state and federal governments.
He raised the same issue as a Mayoral Minute in last Wednesday's council meeting.
Both he and fellow councillors described the road as "terrifying", even before considering weather conditions and driver behaviour, and an alternate route was certainly a priority.
Cr Mitchell Nadin said with recent studies finding a rail link between Canberra and the Coast was not feasible, "it puts even more pressure on how we're going to resolve our road network".
It was Cr Robyn Bain who suggested the additional clause to approach Snowy Hydro 2.0 to discuss the issues and potential synergies with what the shire hoped to achieve.
Along with the tunnel idea, councillors voted unanimously in favour of the mayoral minute's proposal to write to the NSW Minster for Transport requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the Princes Hwy and Snowy Mountains Hwy "and the need to upgrade these key routes to reduce natural disaster-related transport impacts".
They will also write to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development requesting an urgent meeting "to discuss recognition of the Princes Hwy as a Road of Strategic Importance for freight, disaster resilience and tourism"; and request that SEATS and the Canberra Region Joint Organisation also include this in their priority listings for presentations to government.
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Ben Smyth
I have worked as a journalist since 2005 and am now Editor of Australian Community Media mastheads in Bega, Merimbula and Eden
I have worked as a journalist since 2005 and am now Editor of Australian Community Media mastheads in Bega, Merimbula and Eden
