The Batemans Bay community has weighed in on Transport for NSW's plans to close the King Highway from Monday to Thursday for almost two-and-a-half months.
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Transport for NSW announced last Friday that a stretch of the Kings Highway would be closed to tree removal works from August 30, with the road expected to stay closed until the middle of November.
The highway would be closed from 8am to 4pm from Monday to Thursday, but remain open during any public or school holiday.
An arborist's report identified about 400 high-risk trees on the Clyde Mountain which will need to be removed according to Transport for NSW's regional director for the south, Sam Knight.
Response from the community has been mixed, with many questioning the timing while also acknowledging the necessity of the works.
"This could have already been happening to avoid school holidays," said Frank Sharkey.
"I'm all for safety, but businesses in Braidwood, Nelligen and the Bay are going to be badly impacted.
"What is the government going to do for those businesses and their employees?"
Viv Campbell said she understood the need for the work, but wanted a "more sympathetic solution".
"How can residents and businesses prepare for such an inconvenience without a reasonable lead in time?" she asked.
"I would also like to understand why it is going to take so long to remove the trees that are close enough to the Kings Highway to need total road closure.
"I think another issues is the traffic load on Friday sin particular as it will be really heavy given it is the only working day the road is open."
Resident Ken Buckley said it was "atrocious timing".
"We might as well put the signs back up - South Coast Closed for Business," he said.
"Businesses are on their knees with no visitors from Victoria, Wollongong, or Sydney, the only business we have is coming from Canberra and the Riverina.
"Thousands of day trippers won't come and many who are scared of 'the mountain' won't travel after dark.
"Obviously those who have made this decision have never been in private enterprise and probably don't even think about what else might be having an effect on people's livelihoods."
Bay resident Lucy Cartwright said the works should have been completed during the winter months.
"A good time (for the works) would have been winter when trade is minimal," she said.
"The wrong time of the year is the start of spring when people start travelling and money starts coming in after a hard winter.
"A lot of businesses won't make it to summer, especially after a tough two years."
Others praised the planning, saying it was the best way to deal with a bad situation.
"Unstable trees are a huge hazard that could easily kill a carload of people, so they must be removed," said Tanya Fane.
"Doing it this way with the highway open from 4pm means at least there are daily opportunities to get through.
"How many people would be outraged and baying for blood if there was an accident or a tree tumbles over next summer?"
Maybe Maria O'Halloran is right when she says it's "time for an alternate route from the Bay to Canberra bypassing the Clyde Mountain".