Braidwood Safety Improvements - Kings Highway

  • Project scheduleTo be completed in July/August 2023
Kings Highway on approach to Braidwood

Over seven years from 2004, there have been 17 crashes, including five fatal crashes, on the Kings Highway near Braidwood. More than half involved a collision with a roadside object, and in all five fatal crashes the vehicle collided with a tree.

In response to the crash history, a Route Safety Review was carried out in 2012 which identified the existing avenue of Golden Poplars as a road safety hazard.

A tree management plan was prepared in consultation with Transport for NSW and Council which included planning for a replacement avenue of trees at an increased distance from the road. Transport for NSW commissioned cuttings of the existing Golden Poplars, which have both aesthetic and historical value, to be propagated to a height suitable for future planting.

In May 2020, roadside safety barriers and audio-tactile line marking were installed. The roadside safety barrier protects motorists from a range of hazards and aims to reduce the severity of crashes and will remain even when the existing avenue of trees reaches the end of their natural lives.

Advancements in roadside barrier technology have reduced the amount of deflection required behind the guardrail meaning the majority of the current trees can be safely protected by barrier without having to be removed.

Planting of propagated Golden Poplars

The planting of the propagated Golden Poplars was planned to take place at the same time as the safety upgrade in 2020, however the trees began showing signs of poor health and testing identified the presence of a botanical disease called Crown Gall. The trees were destroyed to prevent them from spreading the disease to the surrounding environment.

A second round of cuttings have been propagated and QPRC has agreed to take these trees for future use. We plan to plant these trees in July/August 2023.

 

Location

Kings Highway, Braidwood 2622  View Map

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