Business communities throughout Braidwood, Bungendore and the NSW south coast will all feel the impact of Kings Highway roadworks scheduled to start at the end of August after an already gruelling 18 months.
Between bushfires, floods, the initial wave of Covid last year and the current Sydney lockdown, businesses in the area are reeling.
The essential works will remove 400 potentially hazardous trees along the Clyde Mountain section of the Kings Highway, which were badly damaged during the 2019-20 bushfires.
According to local business owners, the 10-week, four-day schedule of essential roadworks along the Kings Highway “could well see the end of many businesses in Braidwood”.
“There’s nothing left in our tanks, financially things have been really tough and so the reserves just aren’t there to weather another 10 weeks,” fourth generation Braidwood business owner Fiona Mutton of Len Mutton & Co told Canberra Daily.
“Braidwood will be a ghost town essentially and we know that from the experience of the bushfires and Covid has shown us how important passing trade is to the viability of our businesses.”
Additionally, businesses in Bungendore and along the NSW South Coast who rely on passing traffic will also feel the brunt of the road closures.
To ease the burden on the businesses already hurting along the Kings Highway, Ms Mutton and the Braidwood and Villages Business Chamber are calling on the NSW Government to consider adjusting the program of the works.
Instead of the planned 10-week, four-day schedule, they are calling for an extended two-day-a-week closure on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, their quietest days of the week.
“We’ve just got to hope that common sense prevails in all of this,” she said. “My motto has always been never surrender, but this is really testing me.”
With no local consultation from government whatsoever, Ms Mutton said she found out about the works in the first place “from a passing truck driver” before following up.
Coming out of the quieter winter months, spring is one of the most important seasons for Braidwood businesses as visitor numbers heading to the coast surge.
This is further compounded by the fact the Sydney lockdown has resulted in an approximate 75 per cent drop in trade compared to this time last year, according to Ms Mutton.
From there, a 10-week four-day shut out would leave the town “basically in the middle of nowhere” amid what should be a peak time.
“I am a clothing business and August-September-October is a really important time for me to start selling through my investment in summer fashion,” she said.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro told ABC Radio Canberra’s Mornings yesterday he has written to the NSW Minister for Regional Roads to try to get the program of works changed to better suit the local business communities along the highway.
“The Kings Highway is far too important for transport, for tourism, and for people movement to have it closed for such a significant time in the day and time over a significant number of months,” he said.
If the program of works can’t be amended, Mr Barilaro said he would “seek to secure a level of financial support” for Braidwood businesses.
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