Macquarie Pass is an eight-kilometre-long section of the

Illawarra Highway Illawarra Highway is a short state highway in New South Wales, Australia. It connects Wollongong to the Southern Highlands and links Princes Highway and Hume Highway. It is named after the geographical area it crosses, the Illawarra region. ...

passing through Macquarie Pass National Park. It was opened in 1898, though had been used by the Wodi Wodi tribe. Macquarie Pass links the Southern Highland town of

Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places ...

to the coastal town of

Albion Park Albion Park is a suburb situated in the Macquarie Valley in the City of Shellharbour, which is in turn one of the three local government areas that comprise the Wollongong Metropolitan Area, New South Wales, Australia. Although it is surround ...

, descending the Illawarra Escarpment via a very narrow

bitumen Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

roadway, which has several single-lane sections and is mostly two lanes with double "no overtaking" lines. It is in the

Shellharbour Shellharbour (also known as Shellharbour Village) is a suburb located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It also gives its name to the local government area, City of Shellharbour, and its central business district, Shellhar ...

local government area. This section of roadway is very steep, and contains many

hairpin bends A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...

, resulting in buses and trucks needing to reverse on some of the bends. The pass is quite notorious for accidents due to its nature, and drivers and riders are required to be cautious. After heavy rain, the Macquarie Pass can be closed due to flooding on the top half of the pass. Cars and motorcycle riders may opt to use Jamberoo Mountain Road between

and

Jamberoo Jamberoo is a village on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. It is approximately 11.3 km inland from Kiama. At the , Jamberoo had a population of 1,667. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal ...

, while trucks are advised to use Mount Ousley Road (

Southern Freeway The Princes Motorway is a predominantly dual carriage untolled motorway that links Sydney to Wollongong and further south through the Illawarra region to . Part of the Australian Highway 1 network, the motorway is designated with the rout ...

) and Picton Road as an alternative. The road is very popular with motorcyclists on weekends and public holidays. The Shellharbour and Wingecarribee Councils and the NSW

Roads and Maritime Services ] Roads and Maritime Services (also known as Roads & Maritime Services) was an Statutory authority, agency of the New South Wales Government responsible for building and maintaining road infrastructure and managing the day-to-day compliance an ...

have therefore published a safety brochure entitled 'Motorcycling Macquarie Pass.'

Caloola Pass proposal

During the 1980s, construction of an alternative roadway was proposed —ascending the Illawarra Escarpment from Albion Park, New South Wales, Albion Park to

(adjacent to Yellow Rock). The proposal was not proceeded with.

Future of Macquarie Pass

While debate continues as to whether the road should be closed to trucks (diverting all trucks bound for the Highlands and

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

north to Mount Ousley), there is pressure from private developers for a new multi-lane highway over the escarpment to connect Shellharbour to the Highlands. However, residents of the Southern Highlands are strongly opposed to this, and neither state nor federal government has acted on the proposal.

References

Highways in New South Wales Wollongong Mountain passes of Australia {{Australia-road-stub

Caloola Pass proposal

Future of Macquarie Pass

See also

References