While millions of dollars will be spent upgrading the road at the bottom of Mt Ousley Road, it's not the most accident-prone stretch.
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That dubious honour belongs to the section of the motorway around the T-intersection with New Mt Pleasant Road.
On Monday, a man was injured in a three-car crash near the intersection, emergency services having to cut him free from the wreckage of his car.
Crash data from the Centre for Road Safety show that intersection as the most likely place for crashes on the downhill run along Mt Ousley Road.
Between 2017 and 2021, there were 19 crashes at or near that intersection, with six on the northbound side, the remainder heading south.
This compares to 16 from the last hill leading down to the base of Mt Ousley Road, where the interchange will be built.
Fortunately, there were no fatalities among those 19 crashes - in fact there have been no fatal crashes along Mt Ousley Road from the top of the hill to the bottom between 2017 and 2021.
Of the 19 crashes, two resulted in serious injuries to a driver or passenger, with four crashes leading to moderate injuries.
Seven people suffered minor injuries in a crash, while there were no injuries in six of them.
In terms of what is causing the large number of crashes at this section of Mt Ousley Road, it could be issues around drivers turning left onto the road.
Or it could be related to drivers making their way to the left turn lane off the motorway. Or perhaps it's because of motorists gathering speed as they head down the hill.
A spokesperson from Transport for NSW declined to state a specific reason for the high rate of crashes.
"Safety and reliability at Mt Ousley are being investigated as a priority through the Illawarra Shoalhaven Regional Transport Plan," the spokesperson said.
"Future work undertaken will complement the Mt Ousley Interchange upgrade."
The interchange will include a heavy vehicle bypass lane for southbound traffic and a new southbound entrance to the University of Wollongong via an overpass, replacing the University Avenue exit.
The safety and reliability improvements were listed in the transport plan, however no time frame for their completion is given.
There were also no plans to close off access between New Mt Pleasant Road and the motorway.
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.
