April 2021 Significant travel delays on Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road in the Blue Mountains until Sunday 18 April. Motorists are advised that significant delays are expected in the Blue Mountains during the school holiday period, particularly on weekends. Traffic using the Great Western Highway on the 2021 Easter long weekend experienced delays in excess of two hours. Motorists are encouraged to use public transport or consider alternate routes. Using alternate routes Motorists travelling between Sydney and the Central West can consider using the Hume Highway via Cowra and Yass, or the Golden Highway via Dubbo or Mudgee, particularly if travelling on weekends. However customers should also allow extra travel time on these routes due to holiday traffic. Alternate routes to The Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road Using public transport Travellers are urged to use public transport to travel into or out of the Blue Mountains. You may make use of the following train stations with car parks nearby: West-bound East-bound Glenbrook Blackheath Lithgow Springwood Mt Victoria Medlow Bath Woodford Bathurst Lawson Hazelbrook Blayney Faulconbridge Bullaburra Orange Valley Heights Katoomba Dubbo Warrimoo Blaxland Travellers going to regional NSW are also encouraged to use public transport if possible. For information on booking travel to regional centres, go to https://transportnsw.info/regional-bookings/ or call 13 22 32. 1 Bells Line of Road Transport for NSW has now completed further investigations of Bells Line of Road, following 16mm of rain that resulted in a minor tension crack above the road east of Mt Tomah. Specialists have confirmed that a number of large trees have been compromised, and present a risk to motorist safety and the stability of the slope along the road. Essential work to remove the trees has been scheduled for this afternoon Friday, 9 April. One lane of Bells Line of Road is expected to reopen over the weekend, subject to the safe removal of the trees and weather permitting. In this case, there will be some temporary traffic changes to ensure the area is safe to travel. Traffic control, single lane closures and a reduced speed limit of 40km/hr will be in place 24 hours per day. Please keep to speed limits and follow the direction of traffic controllers and signs. Transport for NSW has committed all available resources to the reopening of Bells Line of Road, however, further rain may exacerbate the current damage again and further delay the opening. Rehabilitation work is ongoing and it will take some time to bring the road back to its full capacity. Traffic management at Mt Victoria A traffic management system will be on standby on key dates during the holidays – Sunday 11 April, Saturday 17 April and Sunday 18 April – for the steep slope of Victoria Pass to help ease congestion. If queues begin to extend down Victoria Pass, traffic will be stopped at the bottom until there is enough clear road to allow vehicles to travel up the Pass without stopping. This will help eastbound motorists to negotiate Victoria Pass more easily, improving road safety and reducing the risk of break downs. The Great Western Highway at Victoria Pass On the 2020 June long weekend more than 30 vehicles broke down or overheated on Victoria Pass. This traffic management plan was implemented in October 2020 and reduced queue lengths, with no vehicles breaking down. 2 Changed traffic conditions Transport for NSW will monitor traffic and stop vehicles at the bottom of Victoria Pass if queuing at Blackheath reaches Victoria Pass, to allow the steep roadway to clear. Traffic control will be in place on the Bells Line of Road once the road has been reopened, with single lane access and reduced speed limits. Transport for NSW will monitor traffic flow, provide real time traffic information and attend to incidents. Motorists are advised to drive to the conditions, allow extra time and follow the direction of signs and traffic control. Transport for NSW thanks motorists for their patience during this time. Plan your trip and for the latest traffic updates, you can call 132 701, visit livetraffic.com or download the Live Traffic NSW App. Contact If you have any questions, please contact Transport for NSW on 1800 953 777 or email [email protected]. Thank you for your patience during this time. If you need help understanding this information, please contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask them to call 1800 953 777. 3 .