Despite traffic volumes along Gerroa Road being cut in half since 2017, dangerous crashes are still happening.
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The most recent of those occurred on Tuesday morning, when one woman died in a head-on crash.
She was travelling north with two other women when they collided with an SUV travelling south.
The other two women in the car were airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.
The sole passenger of the SUV - also a woman - was in a stable condition despite being trapped in the wreckage for some time.She was also airlifted to hospital.
Nowra Police Station's Inspector Ray Stynes said early indicators were that one of the vehicles crossed over onto the wrong side of the road.
Colloquially known as the "sand track" Gerroa Road, had long been used by motorists travelling between Kiama and Bomaderry looking to avoid the Berry bottleneck.
The completion of the Berry bypass has changed that.
"Since the completion of the Foxground to Berry Bypass there has been a significant reduction in motorists using Crooked River Road-Gerroa Road, with about 5000 less vehicles per day using the road," a Transport for NSW spokesman said.
"This is a reduction of about 50 per cent."
Once the Berry to Bomaderry stage of the upgrade is complete in 2022, traffic volumes are predicted to fall by a further 10 per cent.
Tuesday's tragedy was not the only time the road has seen a fatality or serious accident.
Last year, a 25-year-old man died on the road when the ute he was driving hit a tree over the Queens Birthday long weekend.
His passenger had to be airlifted to hospital.
Witnesses told police the driver was overtaking several vehicles at the time of the crash.
In August 2016 a woman had to be airlifted to hospital after a crash on Gerroa Road, while a year earlier a 24-year-old driver was injured when her four-wheel-drive hit a power pole.
In March 2015, a 30-year-old woman flipped her car after crashing into the back of a Mercedes parked on the side of the road, its owner changing a tyre.
The 30-year-old suffered neck and pelvic injuries and her male passenger had head, chest, abdomen and pelvic injuries.
Data from Transport for NSW show that between 2014-2018 there were 27 crashes recorded on Crooked River Road/Gerroa Road between (and including) the intersections with Bolong Road, Shoalhaven Heads and Wingeewah Road, Gerringong.
These crashes resulted in one person being killed and 21 people being injured, including 10 people seriously injured.
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
