Dunns Creek Road - Stage 2 - Connection from Old Cooma Road

• Project typeCapital works
• Project valueConstruction Stage 1 - $65m | Construction Stage 2 - TBC

Background

Dunns Creek Road is a proposed road to connect Googong Township and Tralee to the ACT. Council adopted their preferred route in September 2015, following a Dunns Creek Road Alignment Investigation and Cost Review. This initial preferred route connected at the intersection of Old Cooma Road and Googong Road and connected to Tralee and the ACT through Sheppard Street into Hume and extension to the Monaro Highway.

Since then, land along the alignment has been registered as biodiversity conservation land and a wildlife sanctuary. The NSW Biodiversity Conservation Trust is responsible for administering the NSW Government’s private land conservation programs and these reserves are important grassy woodlands of the southern tablelands region. Find out more about the Biodiversity Offsets Scheme. We have investigated if the previously adopted route is still possible, however development through these lands or offsetting elsewhere is unlikely to be supported.

View the map of where the biodiversity stewardship agreements are.

What has Council been working on?

We have been investigating alternative routes which avoid the environmentally protected areas and minimise impacts on existing properties. The ACT Government has reiterated their previous advice that they do not support an ACT connection via Sheppard Street and that their preferred connection is via the Isabella Drive intersection.

In 2020, Council received $27m from the NSW Government for road design and land acquisition. Approximately $3,700,000 of this funding has been spent. In 2022, the Australian Government announced $65m for construction work associated with Dunns Creek Road.

We are currently looking at delivering the project in two stages.

What is Stage 1 - Tralee to Hume (ACT) Connection?

The first stage is the connection between Tralee and the ACT at or towards the Isabella Drive intersection. Our traffic modelling shows that Tompsitt Drive will become a pinch point as Tralee and the South Jerrabomberra Regional Jobs Precinct grows by 2031. Stage 1 helps to reduce this problem by providing a second exit from Tralee into the ACT.

Council is currently working with Transport for NSW, and in consultation with ACT and Commonwealth departments, to progress the design for building Stage 1. $65m from the Australian Government will go towards construction of this section.

Find out more about Stage 1.

What is Stage 2 - connection to Old Cooma Road?

Stage 2 is the connection from Stage 1 to Old Cooma Road.

Stantec was engaged to prepare a study on route options for Dunns Creek Road, including assessment of impacts to residents and conservation sites and cost-benefit analysis. Several alternative routes are being reviewed, as well as No-Dunns Creek Road options consisting of upgrades to the existing road networks. The review was reported to Council on 12 August 2026. All the documents and opportunity to have your say are on our Your Voice page. The documents are also below under the 2026 Stantec Report heading.

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