Repair work to Jamberoo Mountain Road has been further delayed. It will now start in January, and is expected to take several months.

This is a blow to residents and businesses who had been counting on an earlier revised commitment for the work start in November and be open in time for Christmas.

Jamberoo Pub’s Jamie Warren says it is terrible news for his and other businesses.

“It’s a big blow for what is usually our busiest time of the year. After COVID, the landslides have been another obstacle for us to overcome.

“It’s not just Jamberoo that will suffer, it will be the municipality as a whole.”

He thinks it is time to discuss what can be done to assist businesses in terms of a rebate, compensation or reduction in rates.

Natasha Deen of Jamberoo Newsagency, who spoke to The Bugle in August about having to reduce her business hours, is still frustrated at a lack of communication and support from Council.

“There has been absolutely no communication from Council - not a phone call, visit, letter, email, not even a standard flyer, nothing.”

In a statement, Council says it has communicated to the broad community, which includes local businesses, through media releases and updates to its webpage; as well as targeted emails updates, meetings and discussions with the residents closest to the closed section.

Mayor Reilly and Gareth Ward MP inspecting the road recently

Mayor Neil Reilly says while he has met with a number of residents and requests have been acted on, he hasn’t been approached by businesses.

“As a former small business owner I have empathy and sympathy for their situation, but really there isn’t much Council can do. I don’t want to give people false hope.

“I see Council’s role in this as the first aid. We have to fix the road that is broken, but it needs a longer term solution and we have to work closely with the State for that.”

Council is awaiting a response to its request for Jamberoo Mountain Road to be reclassified as a State Road.

The news of a more prolonged closure is a bitter disappointment for Mike Cains, owner of Pecora Dairy at Knights Hill on the LGA’s western boundary (and its cheese and wine bar offshoot in Robertson) and a board member of the Kiama & District Business Chamber. He also ran for the Liberal Party in the seat of Whitlam in the last Federal election.

“For the businesses of Kiama and Jamberoo it is an absolute kick in the guts,” he says.

“It will displace millions of dollars of economic benefit from the region, as Jamberoo Mountain Road is vital because it connects the two economies of the Southern Highlands and Kiama.”

While acknowledging that the damage required a complex engineering solution, Mr Cains is very critical of the time it has taken to get to this point.

“Sure engineering advice is hard to come by, but six months for such an important road to be fixed is in anybody’s language simply unacceptable,” he says.

Council says the delay is due to the complexity of the repairs required.

“My staff are doing everything they can to get the tender out the door, and the road fixed,” says CEO Jane Stroud.

“They’ve worked hard to get some really limited access, so we can let the folks who live on the road get to their homes, without literally needing to walk the road, in the cold, in the rain, to get groceries home, or kids to school.

“We all want the landslip fixed and the road restored. We simply have to go to tender, the road is damaged in four places and the size of the work in significant.

“It’s going to take time. We are trying our best to get it done.”

Mr Cains supports Council’s call for Jamberoo Mountain Road to be declared a State Road.

Earlier this week he spoke to the Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra, Peter Poulos MLC, about the need for the Government to focus on the road connections between Kiama and the Southern Highlands now that the four lanes to Nowra have been completed.

“They need to be the next on the State Government’s agenda,” he says.

“Effectively, these roads haven’t changed in 100 years.”

The situation is made worse when Macquarie Pass is closed, as it is the whole of this week.

The Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, is also lobbying for the road to get more attention.

“Back in 2009, State Labor handed this road over to Council without a cent of compensation and Council and ratepayers have had to carry it ever since,” he says.

“I have been in discussions with Sam Farraway, Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, about taking this road back because it is a major artery between Kiama and the Highlands and it is a big ask for Council to maintain.”

Mr Ward has also put a Question on Notice asking the State Government to assist Jamberoo businesses, with an answer due on 24 November.

“Essentially I asked for a similar compensation package to that we got for Kangaroo Valley businesses,” he says.

This enabled small businesses and not-for-profits severely impacted by the road closures to apply for a one off $10,000 grant, jointly funded by the State and Federal governments.

Ms Deen of the Newsagency praised Mr Ward as the only person who has tried to help her situation.

“It is a very disheartening and inconvenient outcome for the whole community,” says the chair of the Jamberoo Ratepayers and Residents Association, John Friedmann.

“In my view, it only strengthens the argument that it needs to be a State Road where action can take place immediately.”

Council is keen to remind all residents and road users the road is unstable, severely damaged and not fit for general traffic. It is closed between Misty Lane and The Abbey.

“We have carried out some minor repairs to enable Council and Emergency vehicles to pass through the site but these works are only of a standard suitable for very occasional, light vehicles,” says Mike Dowd, Director Engineering & Works.

“The temporary repairs and the condition of Jamberoo Mountain Road throughout the closed section are not suitable to enable the road to be safely opened for public use, even for a single lane.

“Embankments through this section are still unstable with cracks in the road seen to widen after heavy rain events.  This means that the chance of further landslips or tree falls remains high, making the road unsafe to open to the public until the major rectification works can be carried out.”

The tender for the landslide repair work closes 1 December, with the work to be awarded at the December Council Meeting.