Macquarie Pass

[1] Macquarie Pass links the Southern Highland town of Robertson to the coastal town of Albion Park, descending the Illawarra Escarpment via a very narrow bitumen roadway, which has several single-lane sections and is mostly two lanes with double "no overtaking" lines.

The Shellharbour and Wingecarribee Councils and Transport for NSW have therefore published a safety brochure entitled 'Motorcycling Macquarie Pass.

'[2] During the 1980s, construction of an alternative roadway was proposed[3] —ascending the Illawarra Escarpment from Albion Park to Robertson (adjacent to Yellow Rock).

While debate continues as to whether the road should be closed to trucks (diverting all trucks bound for the Highlands and Canberra north to Mount Ousley), there is pressure from private developers for a new multi-lane highway over the escarpment to connect Shellharbour to the Highlands.

However, residents of the Southern Highlands are strongly opposed to this, and neither state nor federal government has acted on the proposal.