Macquarie Pass is an eight-kilometre-long section of the Illawarra Highway passing through Macquarie Pass National Park. It was opened in 1898, though had been used by the Wodi Wodi tribe.[1]
Macquarie Pass links the Southern Highland town of Robertson to the coastal town of Albion Park, descending the Illawarra Escarpment via a very narrow bitumen roadway, which has several single-lane sections and is mostly two lanes with double "no overtaking" lines. It is in the Shellharbour local government area.
This section of roadway is very steep, and contains many hairpin bends, 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 Robertson and Jamberoo, while trucks are advised to use Mount Ousley Road (Southern Freeway) and Picton Road as an alternative.
The road is very popular with motorcyclists on weekends and public holidays. The Shellharbour and Wingecarribee Councils and Transport for NSW have therefore published a safety brochure entitled 'Motorcycling Macquarie Pass.'[2]
- ^ "Robertson". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 April 2008. Archived from the original on 3 July 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ "Motorcycling Macquarie Pass" (PDF). Shellharbour City Council. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2013.