An Illawarra paramedic has highlighted a "life and death" design flaw in the $340 million Gerringong highway upgrade, in the wake of a recent crash on the notorious Kiama bends.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kilometres-long traffic queues clogged the Princes Highway in both directions on the evening of August 21 after a car came unstuck on a section of the bends south of Weir Street.
The car had slammed into a jersey barrier and overturned, blocking 1½ northbound lanes.
Ambulance NSW Illawarra duty operations manager, Inspector Norm Rees, drove from Wollongong through bumper-to-bumper southbound traffic to reach the injured driver. But, with no breaks in the jersey barriers, he was forced to drive almost four kilometres past the crash to Rose Valley Road, then turn around.
The return journey was painfully slow in the gridlocked Friday traffic, which stretched 5.5 kilometres southward at its peak.
"It probably took me 20 to 25 minutes to fight my way back," Inspector Rees said.
"I just couldn't believe they hadn't put in a break for emergency vehicles, for the amount of accidents we have there.
"That's life-and-death stuff."
The Kiama bends have been the scene of multiple fatalities and serious accidents, most often in the southbound lanes.
In February 2011, a Kiama Downs man died after losing control of his car about two kilometres from Rose Valley Road.
This followed fatal crashes in January 2010 and November 2007, which claimed the lives of 21-year-old Peter Dibley and 19-year-old Megan Dalley, respectively.
Roads and Maritime Services consulted emergency services during the planning phase of the recently completed upgrade to the Princes Highway at Gerringong.
But, according to a spokesman for the department, breaks to the jersey barriers couldn't be included.
"Emergency services were advised of the limited opportunities to provide additional cross-over locations due to the physical constraints of the site," the spokesman said.
"There are no locations for safe cross-over sites in the four-kilometre section of the Princes Highway between Weir Street and Rose Valley Road."
The man injured in last month's crash was eventually transported to hospital with a broken arm and facial injuries.
The first ambulance paramedic to come to his aid came from a crew that had travelled from Oak Flats, about 15 minutes ahead of Inspector Rees.
In a bizarre twist, that ambulance shredded its tyre after driving over a piece of barrier concrete that had shattered in the collision.
The paramedic abandoned the ambulance on the roadside and jumped over the jersey barrier to reach the man.
