Photo of New Bridges Sth Coast Raod

Pic from Bald Hill Stanwell Park looking south at the new bridges under
construction.

At the moment scheduled to open early next year.


I guess a good little route to Wollongong from Sydney would be via the
National Park, follow the whatever fucking name they give it down to near
Bulli and then head up Bulli Pass, turn right up to Picton Road and turn
left then a couple of klms hang left and either head dowm Mt Keira or Mt
Kembla.

It sure beats the freeway


http://members.ozemail.com.au/~wlsutton/bridge.html

 

Hmmm, I'm glad the left _some_ curves there, it looks quite similar to
The Kiama International Raceway...

big

 

What really makes me laugh is they are comparing this road to the Great
Southern Road in Vic ( in the local rag...the Illawarra Mercury ). I have
not been on the GSR but I know this wont be a patch on it.

As the the Kiama International Raceway well this one is going to have a hell
of a lot more Sunday drivers looking at the views and not the road. Wonder
how long before the first rider down will be ?

 

That'll be the _rider_ looking at the views and not the
road......................

ck

 

Will, I am unsure if you are local but I know that a few of us from that way
feel that the first rider down will be within 7 days of opening and expect a
very severe motorcycle accident within 1 - 2 months.

Rumours also doing the rounds are about cameras being placed on the bridge
but I have asked some people who should know (ie. within RTA circles) and
they have not heard of it yet.



Garry

 

Keiraville and no idea about cameras but there will be no street lights
\

 

What's so dangerous about it?

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

Fixed speed cameras.

Gary (if any)

 

What's so dangerous about it?

Nobody can tell Nev, the road has been closed for ages and the new section
hasn't been completed yet. It is supposed to negate the problem of falling
rocks from the cliff face landing on the road , the road itself sliding into
the sea and eliminates a couple of corners. Some silly buggers up here are
wanting to promote this road as a mini GOR. Trouble is , it's only about 5
km's long !

Graham
GSX750F

 

Nev,

If you refer to the bridge there should be nothing dangerous about it but
given that it has sweeping corners built into it there is already discussion
at some locations where bike riders frequent about how fast these corners
can be taken.

Basically, it will be dangerous to the lunatic fringe trying to show their
masulinity on a public road.

As for me, I personally do not know why they even bothered putting the
bridge there in the first place, the road should have been left closed.

Garry

 

Except for the people that live down along there that all of a sudden had a
hell of a long detour to get to work etc. And there are a few between Bulli
and the fallen in bit.

Al

 

so we can expect there to be a very severe motorcycle accident within 1-2
months on every road with sweeping corners?

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

No Nev. In this case we are going to have a lot of drivers going for a
Sunday drive and then looking at the views and their concentration levels
will be down and then add some monkey boy wantabees on bikes trying to outdo
each other then you have a recipe for disaster

 

and how is that different to any other road? why the predictions of gloom and
doom?

Nev..
'03 ZX12R

 

Al,

Correct, many locals did not like the idea of a detour but there are a
number of communities that survive on one way in, one way out and that do
not have the luxury of two very well maintained roads as a detour (F6 from
Helensburgh and old Princes Hwy). Timewise the difference from Stanwell Park
to Wollongong was quicker via the F6 than along Lawrence Hargreaves Drive.
Yes, far more boring but quicker (except in times of extreme fog).

As an example, look at Pearl Beach, Patonga, Wagstaff etc in the Gosford/Woy
Woy region.

I just feel that the cost of the bridge (estimated at upwards of 40 million)
could have been used in other areas to improve the road quality and safety.

I am also aware that my opinion is in the minority amongst my bike riding
mates as they like the road.


Garry

 

Most other roads do not contain or involve a bridge out into the ocean which
is on a road advertised as a 'scenic drive'.

The danger is as Will has said. Meandering gawking drivers mixing with Rossi
wannabe's mixed with bends.


Garry

 

"recipe for disaster"

http://www.perkigoth.com/home/kermit/stuff/bullshitbingo/

GB

 

Oh, for ****'s sake!

The section of road the new bridge replaces was dominated by a blind
double-apex hairpin, and an over-90-degree turn with low visibility and
your choice of a downhill, off-camber approach in one direction or a
kink around an outcrop of oncoming-traffic-obscuring rock in the other.

Not to mention the steady drizzle of rocks ranging, from what I've
swerved around, the size of a fist to the size of a helmet.

A wide-open bridge gets put in to bypass it all, and you're
predicting_that_will bring out the casualties?

Aren't you supposed to be tilting at some kind of windmill to improve
the safety of roads in the Illawarra? Well, the RTA have gone and taken
the most dangerous 500m of roadway in an 80km radius out of the
equation, and you're still bitching...

 

IK

It could be argued that it is incorrect to label that 500m of roadway the
most dangerous within an 80km radius (depending on the definition used),
however it was a dangerous piece of road and something had to be done about
it. Yes, the bridge is an alternative but my preference (as mentioned
elsewhere) would have been to leave the road closed and spend the money in
other areas (ie. National Park, local Illawarra Roads other rural roads etc)
as there were alternative routes available.

As for dangerous stretches of road, there are some 500 metre stretches on
Mac Pass that have a higher accident rate and I would hazard to guess that
the Nasho could also fit into these calculations (as figures contained in
the report at
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/motorcyclesafety/motorcycleinfo/ could
indicate).

As for my 'tilting at some kind of windmill to improve safety of roads in
the Illawarra', well you are part right. The focus of myself and the others
involved is Macquarie Pass and whether this expands to cover other roads
only time will tell.

Personally, I did not like the stretch of LHD that the bridge replaces for
all the reasons you mention so did not frequent the area much and aside from
the curiosity value, I do not expect to become a regular on it.

Time will tell if the predictions are correct and if not (ie. no accidents
or casualties), I will be glad, however I would suggest that if people can
crash on straight freeways then they will always find ways to crash.

Pick away.



Garry

 

<Considers the traffic stats>

Yeah that sounds about right.

JL