Motorists are advised of changed traffic conditions on the Princes Highway between Nullica River and Pambula from Monday, August 17 for tree removal along the roadside.
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Work will be carried out on weekdays between 7am and 5pm weather permitting.
Traffic control, lane closures and a reduced speed limit of 40 km/h will be in place for the safety of workers and road users during work hours.
Stop/slow traffic control will be in place and traffic will be stopped in both directions with delays of up to 10 minutes at various locations on the highway.
The work aims to improve bushfire resilience along the major regional highway as the 2020/21 bushfire season approaches.
Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Disaster Recovery John Barilaro said teams were removing high risk trees that had the potential to fall on sections of the Princes Highway as part of the NSW government's bushfire resilience program.
"We know how important it is to be prepared ahead of the upcoming bushfire season after the devastation of last summer's bushfires," Mr Barilaro said.
"When trees fall across the road during a bushfire, entire communities can be cut off from emergency services or from travelling to safety and this is why we are putting preventative measures in place to identify and remove trees which pose a risk.
"This builds on the NSW government's $64m recovery effort to restore the NSW road network which saw thousands of burnt trees cleared following the most recent devastating bushfire season."
Following last season's bushfires the Princes Highway between NSW and Victoria was cut and remained closed to traffic for several weeks causing major problems for border residents such as those in Mallacoota, and for freight movements.
The closure also impacted Far South Coast holiday destinations of Eden and Merimbula where businesses were desperate for tourists to return after the economic impact of the bushfires.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said removing high risk trees would improve evacuation routes and get people and freight moving quickly after a bushfire.
"This is about ensuring people can evacuate quickly in the event of an emergency - and that supplies and support can move in quickly to support affected communities," Mr Toole said.
"We've had our teams and assessors out identifying trees over the last two weeks that might impact the road network if they were to fall. In areas where wildlife needs to be removed, affected fauna will be relocated to the surrounding area. Cultural impacts have also been taken into account, with Aboriginal heritage respected and carefully assessed as part of this process."
Mr Toole said Transport for NSW teams had also been replacing burnt culverts with new pipes that are more capable of withstanding bushfire impacts.
Work to remove vulnerable trees along the Princes Highway from Nowra to Ulladulla and Cobargo to Eden, as well as along the Gwydir Highway between Grafton and Glen Innes, commenced this week.
The work is expected to be complete by late September, weather permitting.
Motorists are advised to drive to the conditions and follow the directions of signs and traffic control.
Transport for NSW thanks the community for its patience while work is carried out.
For the latest traffic updates call 132 701, visit livetraffic.com or download the Live Traffic NSW App.
