George Bass Drive near Grandfathers Gully, Lilli Pilli, will open today at 3pm.
A 40km/hr speed limit will be in place, along with traffic control, and motorists are asked to drive to conditions.
Yesterday’s planned opening was delayed following a pre-opening inspection that revealed small sections of the 1.2-kilometre upgrade had been affected by Wednesday’s overnight rainfall.
Pavement testing revealed a small amount of moisture has penetrated the top 15-20mm of gravel under the new seal, just enough to destabilise the surface.
Testing also showed the sub-surface gravel was hard and sound, confirming quality compaction had been achieved.
A spokesperson for Council said this means opening the road to heavy traffic is likely to cause potholing in the surface.
“Nonetheless, we appreciate the need to re-open this section of George Bass Drive over the busy Christmas period and so the road will open under a 40km/hr roadworks speed limit and extra traffic control measures put in place to divert traffic onto the road shoulders near Denise Drive.”
Council teams will inspect the road every day including Christmas Day and Boxing Day and undertake any pothole repairs as needed.
The need for further work will be re-assessed in the New Year.
The $4.65 million project has been funded by the Federal and NSW governments, along with Council, to remove the dangerous bends at Grandfathers Gully, near Lilli Pilli.
Image: Traffic control is in place near Denise Drive for the opening of a new section of George Bass Drive, near Lilli Pilli.
