PRINCES HIGHWAY
Former Alignment: Kiama
The Princes Highway originally passed right through the centre of Kiama, along Hothersal, Gipps, Collins, Terralong and Manning Streets, and South Kiama Drive. The old alignment was frequently congested, particularly in holiday periods, and crossed the South Coast railway three times. A bypass of Kiama was long overdue when construction commenced in December 1983, the project having suffered due to the passing of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, thus having to undergo an environmental impact assessment before construction could begin. The bypass passes to the west of Kiama through some extremely steep terrain, characterised by a 10m cutting at Saddleback Mountain Road to keep the grades as flat as possible. The bypass opened to traffic in December 1987.
As part of the bypass project, access to/from Kiama was provided via Gipps St or Hutchinson Street. These two intersections used to be fully directional, however, in early 2003, the median of the bypass was closed, thus making these intersections left-in/left-out only. Strangely enough SR80 still seems to terminate at the old highway, at the intersection of Terralong St and Collins Street. The old highway is now a local road under the control of Kiama Council.
Planning is underway for the provision of new ramps to/from the Kiama Bypass to ease traffic congestion in the town centre caused by increasing urban development in the area.
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Looking south along Collins St. Dec 2004. |
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Looking east along Terralong St. Dec 2004. |
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Looking north along Manning St. Dec 2004. |
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Looking north along South Kiama Drive. Note the vacant land on the left side of the road, reserved for future widening. Dec 2004. |
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ID sign at the intersection of Manning St & Boniara St. This is not a relic but merely a council signing error. July 2005. |
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National Route 1 shield on this directional sign at the intersection of South Kiama Drive & David Smith Place, Kiama Heights. I dont believe this is a relic but could be a direct copy of one. July 2005. |