Jenolan Caves Road is a rural road in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, linking

Great Western Highway Great Western Highway is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, New South Wales, Bathurst, on the state's Central Tablelands. The highway also has local road names between the ...

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales * Hartley, South Australia ** Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada * Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom * Hartley, Cumbria * Hartley, P ...

to Edith Road at Jenolan. The road is a part of Tourist Drive 1 linking the Blue Mountains to Bathurst via

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairy, fairies in Middle Ages, medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania ...

and Hampton.

Route

The road starts at the intersection of the Great Western Highway and Blackmans Creek Road, then travels south and crosses the

Coxs River The Coxs River, a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury- Nepean catchment, is located in the Central Tablelands, Blue Mountains, and Macarthur regions of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The Coxs River rises in Gardi ...

(Glenroy Bridge). From there it travels southwest and ascends Mount Blaxland, then continues to Hampton and to the Duckmaloi Road intersection. Next it winds south to the 5-Mile section which descends to the Grand Arch. It then goes through

Jenolan Caves The Jenolan Caves (Tharawal language, Tharawal: ''Binoomea'', ''Bindo'', ''Binda'') are limestone cave, limestone caves located within the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Blue Mountains (New Sout ...

and leads to a parking lot at Jenolan Caves House. From there it continues northwest on the 2-Mile section before turning into Edith Road at the Kanangra Walls Road intersection. The road is fully sealed across its entire length. The road is as narrow as one lane on the 5-Mile, Grand Arch, and 2-Mile sections, but the majority of the road is two lanes wide.

History

The passing of the ''Main Roads Act of 1924'' through the

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

provided for the declaration of Main Roads, roads partially funded by the State government through the Main Roads Board (MRB). Main Road No. 253 was declared along this road on 8 August 1928, from the intersection with

) via Hampton to Jenolan Caves (and continuing northwest to Oberon); with the passing of the ''Main Roads (Amendment) Act of 1929'' to provide for additional declarations of State Highways and Trunk Roads, this was amended to Main Road 253 on 8 April 1929. The passing of the ''Roads Act of 1993'' updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales. Under this act, Jenolan Caves Road today retains its declaration as part of Main Road 253, from Hartley to Jenolan Caves (and continuing northwest via Oberon to Bathurst).

Closures

The road has been closed several times over the years due to bushfires and landslips. Two notable closures were the section between Hampton and

between January and June 2020 due to bushfire damage and landslips from heavy rain and floods, and closure of the same section in March 2021 due to landslips and parts of the road washed away due to heavy rain and flooding. On May 25, 2021, the road was reopened at Hampton with Stop / Slow restrictions. The 5-Mile section was still closed. The 2-Mile section was reopened on May 10, 2021.

Major intersections

References

{{Road infrastructure in New South Wales Highways in New South Wales Oberon Council

Route

History

Closures

Major intersections

See also

References