Work will soon begin to repair the largest of nine landslip sites on the Snowy Mountains Highway at Brown Mountain, with the state and federal governments committing $2.6million to the effort.
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The news comes just a month after NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison visited the region and confirmed work would begin "within months".
From Monday, April 8, work will be carried out about 800 metres west of the Brown Mountain Power Station, to repair significant damage caused by severe weather events in 2022.
Transport for NSW has appointed a specialist ground engineering contractor, Piling and Concreting Australia (PCA), to repair the landslip damage and fully restore the road at this location.
PCA will drill and install more than three kilometres of seven-metre-long steel rods, known as soil nails, to anchor the section of failed slope before applying a layer of spray-on concrete to prevent further erosion.
The work will take about 20 weeks to complete.
"The ongoing closures associated with landslips and rockfalls on Brown Mountain are frustrating for all of us who use the highway, which is why the Albanese and Minns Labor Governments are working together to kickstart this crucial repair work," Member for Eden-Monaro Kristy McBain said.
"This is one of Brown Mountain's biggest ever repair jobs and will be fantastic for locals and tourists - with this new infrastructure to go a long way to preventing further erosion and to improving road safety on the busy Snowy Mountains Highway.
"I'll continue to advocate for longer-term planning for Brown Mountain, because it's important that frequent and intense weather events don't impact the reliability of this key road network."
The repair work will be carried out with large machinery and workers operating in an area about as wide as a standard single car garage to repair a site about the size of a suburban house block, which creates some unique challenges and risks.
For this reason, a 200-metre section of the highway will be reduced to a single lane, with temporary barriers and traffic lights in place 24 hours for the duration of the work.
In addition, contracts were expected to be finalised soon for more repairs to be carried out this year at another three landslips on Brown Mountain.
Tenders are also being assessed for a site about one-and-a-half kilometres east of the Fred Piper Memorial Lookout that has been limited to a single lane due to the extensive damage on the road.
Transport for NSW said it had made significant progress on its natural disaster recovery work, with repairs completed on more than half of the 100 landslip sites it was managing on several key state roads across the Illawarra and South Coast.
Ms Aitchison said the repair work on the Snowy Mountains Highway at Brown Mountain marked "a significant step towards restoring the region's vital transport infrastructure".
"Through the joint efforts of the Australian and NSW governments, we are investing $2.6 million in this project to repair the largest landslip site," Ms Aitchison said.
"This funding underscores our commitment to supporting the communities affected by natural disasters and reinforces our dedication to infrastructure resilience."
During the Brown Mountain repair work, motorists were being advised to allow an extra five minutes for travel times and drive to conditions.
