Safety concerns raised as upgrade of notorious Tumut intersection nears completion

The $15.1 million project will see the installation of a 50-metre-wide roundabout at the junction of Gocup Road and the Snowy Mountains Highway in Tumut.

The project was announced in October 2020, just months after a a 10-year-old girl, a pregnant 29-year-old woman and her child were killed in a horrific collision at the intersection.

IN OTHER NEWS:

With the project now just weeks away from completion, Transport for NSW southern regional director Sam Knight hopes it will make the busy intersection safer for road users.

"The roundabout will improve safety, traffic flow and efficiency for the 5,400 motorists and 300 heavy vehicle drivers who pass through the intersection each day," Ms Knight said.

But despite this, not everyone is convinced the changes are all for the better.

"The major roundabout has been very controversial in our community with trucks still going through that intersection," Snowy Valleys Councillor Hansie Armour said.

"There was an option to take the route on the other side of the railway line and bring it out to the end of the town near the saleyards - virtually a small bypass."

"I believe creating a T-intersection or installing traffic lights would have done a much better job, but [the government] chose this option and they have their statistics and their reasons why."

Cr Amour, who drives through the intersection on a daily basis, also raised concerns about what she believes to be a key factor behind crashes at the intersection.

"Driving towards the intersection from the caravan park at 4pm, particularly in winter, the sun is low and it totally blinds you," she said.

She said the problem has now been made worse because trees that once filtered some of the brightness are now gone.

The prolonged closure of the busy Tumut intersection has also significantly impacted local business Tumut River Brewing, located on the roundabout, and owner Tim Martin is hopeful it will not only improve the safety of the intersection, but that his business will be able to thrive once again.

"First and foremost is that it resolves the issues with that intersection, because it's been a very dangerous corner for a long time," Mr Martin said.

"But I'm very optimistic and hopeful it will rectify that."

Mr Martin hopes the move will also enable the business to "start generating a profit again."

He said it has been a "very difficult 18 months" for the business.

"We've got both driveways blocked and the main access to our brewery has been closed," he said.

"While there's been great support from our local politicians, there's been zero support financially, and at this point we have sustained about $1 million in losses," he said.

"But I'm hopeful that life goes back to normal and that we start to push some numbers back into the black and we can see our business survive and thrive once more."

The community has been hit by a number of challenges in recent years, with the Black Summer Bushfires, to the pandemic, and the floods and with the extended closure of the intersection Mr Martin has almost forgotten what "normal" is.

"We're expecting everything to go back to normal, whatever that is, because it's been a long time since we've had a normal year." he said.

The project will also see a new shared pathway installed to improve the convenience and connectivity of the area.

The safety upgrade is provided under the Road Safety Program to improve the safety at the Tumut intersection as a regional priority, and to ensure the road network is safe for all users.

Major earthworks for the project started in August 2022 and, while rain delays challenged the progress timeline, TfNSW expects the project to be entirely wrapped up by September, weather permitting.

Motorists are advised there will be the need for certain closures at various times to finish off the work.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: