Upgrades, lower speed limits for Kings Highway - ABC Online

Updated March 05, 2013 11:51:15

The New South Wales Government is promising multi-million dollar upgrades to the Kings Highway as a new study highlights dangers to drivers.

Since 2000, 38 people have been killed on the 177 kilometre stretch of highway linking Canberra and Queanbeyan with the NSW south coast.

The NSW Government has now released an extensive report of safety issues facing the highway.

It found crashes are more common during summer and on weekends, with speed, fatigue, trees near the road and a lack of passing lanes the major causes.

Half of the speed or fatigue related crashes involved local residents.

The report recommends upgrades worth millions of dollars, which could be funded through the NSW black spots program.

Member for Monaro John Barilaro says road surfaces will be upgraded as well as improvements to signage, safety barriers and overtaking lanes.

He says they will also look at current speed limits and initiatives to address driver fatigue.

"The report recommends that 100km per hour speed limits on either side of Braidwood, where recent fatalities took place, be reduced to 80km per hour," he said.

"It's hoped this will occur by the middle of the year."

NSW Roads and Ports Minister Duncan Gay says some of the trees lining Braidwood's Remembrance Drive will have to go as well.

"First of all, we'll lower the speed limit but that's very much an interim idea, that removes some of the problems with the trees, but some of the trees will have to be removed," he said.

"Then we will carefully sit down with the community and work out what we need to do."

Topics: states-and-territories, road, braidwood-2622, nsw, canberra-2600, act, queanbeyan-2620

First posted March 05, 2013 10:27:20