Wollongong residents driving from work on Friday afternoon might get home a little faster – Bulli Pass will be open.
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And they might get to sleep in a bit longer before getting up for work on Monday morning.
The pass will reopen for traffic in both directions from 3pm on Friday and remain open until 9am on Monday.
This weekend’s opening is timed to coincide with the arrival of the cruise ship at Port Kembla.
It is the first of two reopenings – the second will occur the following weekend at the same times for the Sydney to Gong bike ride.
A spokesman for Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) said the pass would be open on time on Friday.
He said the work to install the rock fall fencing on the pass was on schedule.
“Work at Bulli Pass is progressing well with 220 of the 370 of the rock anchors and 59 of the 88 post footings now in place,” the RMS spokesman said.
“Some posts and barrier mesh are expected to be installed before this weekend’s opening of Bulli Pass.”
Some residents have questioned whether work was being undertaken at night, as they had heard no noise and seen no lighting in the bush over the pass.
But the RMS spokesman said work on the fencing was being carried out between 6am and 2am.
“Minimal lighting is used where required and night work is generally not noisy to minimise the impact to residents,” the RMS spokesman said.
“Roads and Maritime thanks the community for its patience while this important safety work is carried out.”
The pass has been closed since October 4 to install safety fencing to prevent rock falls.
Work will continue until December 5, when the pass will be reopened for the summer months.
However, there will be a second two-month closure in 2017 to complete work on the 1.1-kilometre fence.
The timing of the second closure will be announced early next year.