BRAIDWOOD Road between Albatross Road and Albatross Aviation Technology Park is falling apart despite repeated efforts by Shoalhaven City Council to fix the problem with temporary surface patchwork.

The road is failing to cope with the influx of heavy vehicles transporting material from the naval helicopter development site at HMAS Albatross.

Motorists have reported damage to their vehicles as they are peppered with stones and sometimes large rocks from oncoming traffic.

Kelston Lang, who works at the technology park, has concerns for the safety of motorists who use the road, saying it had become plain dangerous.

“I am blown away by the poor condition of the road,” Mr Lang said.

“I have to ease as far as I can to the left when I am passed by oncoming traffic to avoid damage to my car from rocks and debris. 

“Council did not take into consideration the impact that the heavy vehicles would have on this part of the road”.

Mr Lang said a further problem was water trucks involved in nearby roadworks filling up on Braidwood Road and dragging rocks and dirt onto the bitumen, leaving a trail of debris across the road.

“There are large rocks left all over the road, which will cause serious harm to a motorist or their vehicle,” he said.

Works and Services manager at Shoalhaven City Council, Tony Fraser, said that any further restoration work on Braidwood Road was on hold until the construction site was complete at the end of March, at which time an investigation of the underlying structure would be required.

“There are underlying issues with the road which require a bigger fix. Just sealing the road will not work,” Mr Fraser said.

Sixty km/h speed restrictions are in place on the area of Braidwood Road in question and Mr Fraser said council has implemented advisory road signs, warning motorists of the potential hazards on that stretch of Braidwood Road.

“Clearly there are two issues: that’s the material being dragged onto the road from the construction works and the decay of the road.

“Roads have a limited life but sometimes they end up carrying more traffic than was initially intended. This contributes to a shortened life span.”