Category: Hume Travel Radio Network

THE MASSIVE dump of snow across large parts of the state overnight is causing traffic chaos with major arterial roads closed and a number of schools in the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands closed.

More than 10cm of snow fell in Katoomba with falls experienced as far north as Armidale and south to Goulburn.

It’s not often kids in NSW get a snow day, but more than 40 schools in the mountains and highlands won’t open today because of the icy conditions.

The Great Western Highway, Mitchell Highway and New England Highway have all been closed due to snow or ice on the road and police and emergency services are urging drivers to avoid non-essential travel until this cold snap thaws.

“We are urging all road users to drive to the road conditions and exercise caution. In wet and cold conditions, roads will slippery and vehicles may take longer to stop,” Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said.

The treacherous conditions have been hampering paramedics who have been trying to respond to more than 20 crashes caused by the storms and snow.

“Snow, ice, strong winds and heavy rain are making for treacherous conditions for NSW Ambulance paramedics to respond to patients,” Chief Superintendent Simon Locke said.

The major arterial road between Sydney and Melbourne, the Hume Highway, was closed near Bowral but one lane in each direction has since been opened but the RMS is warning of big delays in the area.

Residents in the Blue Mountains and Southern Highlands are also experiencing power outages with Endeavour Energy reporting 8500 customers are affected.

The State Emergency Service set up a number of refuges in the Blue Mountains to provide shelter and food to stranded motorists.

The following road and school closures will be updated as more information becomes available:

SCHOOL CLOSURES
Bald Blair Public School

Ben Lomond Public School

Bigga Public School

Binda Public School

Binya Public School

Black Springs Public School

Blackheath Public School

Blayney High School

Blayney Public School

Burraga Public School

Capertee Public School

Carcoar Public School

Crookwell High School

Crookwell Public School

Cullen Bullen Public School

Euchareena Public School

Hampton Public School

Katoomba High School

Katoomba North Public School

Katoomba Public School

Laggan Public School

Leura Public School

Lithgow Public School

Lyndhurst Public School

Mandurama Public School

Meadow Flat Public School

Megalong Public School

Nashdale Public School

Neville Public School

Niangala Public School

Oberon High School

Oberon Public School

O’Connell Public School

Portland Central School

Rockley Public School

Taralga Public School

Turnkey Creek Public School

Wallerawang Public School

Wattle Flat Public School

Wyangala Dam Public School

Wytaliba Public School
The following schools in the Southern Highlands will have limited staff and students have been advised to stay at home:
St Paul’s Moss Vale

St Thomas Aquinus, Bowral

St Michaels, Mittagong

ROAD CLOSURES

Oxley Highway – Bendemeer to Walcha

Great Western Highway – Mt Victoria to Lawson

Great Western Highway – Bathurst to Marrangaroo (West of Lithgow)

Bells Line of Road – Bell to Mt Irvine

Duckmaloi Road – Oberon (between Oberon and Jenolan Caves Rd)

O’Connell Rd – Oberon

Mid Western Highway – Cowra to Blayney

Mitchell Highway – Orange to Bathurst

Hume Motorway – Berrima (at Berrima Turnoff)

New England Highway – between Glen Innes and Armidale

Crookwell – Goulburn to Crookwell Rd

Perisher to Charlotte Pass Lookout

Khancoban to Cabramurra

Smiggin Holes to Guthega Link Rd

TRAFFIC AFFECTED

Kosciuszko National Park (all directions)

Kosciuszko Rd

Alpine Way

Snowy Mountains Hwy

Guthega Rd

Elliot Way

Perisher to Charlotte Pass Lookout (road closed at Perisher)

Khancoban to Cabramurra – road closed

Smiggin Holes to Guthega Link Rd – road closed

POWER OUTAGES

Blue Mountains: 1100 customers without supply

Southern Highlands: 1100 customers affected

FLOODING ALERTS

Coonamble

Cobar

Far Western Region – Broken Hill

Central Darling

Carrathool

Police are urging road users to drive to the conditions and use extreme caution as parts of the state continue to experience severe weather conditions, including snow and heavy rain.

Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said today (17 July 2015) it is important to change the way you drive to match weather conditions.

“We are urging all road users to drive to the road conditions and exercise caution. In wet and cold conditions, roads will slippery and vehicles may take longer to stop,” Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said.

“Maintain a safe distance from other vehicles so you have ample time to respond to an unexpected hazard, slow down and be aware of your surroundings. It is advisable that you turn the car’s headlights on to ensure maximum visibility by other road users.”

Motorists are urged to check road conditions before embarking on their journeys because some roads are inaccessible as a result of extreme snow and ice conditions and avoid unnecessary travel.

A number of major roads including the Great Western Highway, Hume Highway and Bells Line of Road are closed across the state due to extreme snow and ice conditions.

Due to the closure of the Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road there is currently no way for motorists to travel between Sydney and Lithgow so motorists should delay their journey.

Motorists across the south and west of the state should delay all non-essential travel.

In the state’s south;

• · The Hume Highway is closed at Berrima due to snow and ice. There is no diversion for heavy vehicles. Light vehicles can divert via Mittagong, Bowral and Moss Vale.

In the state’s west;

• · The Great Western Highway is closed between Bathurst and Lithgow due to snow and ice.
• · The Bells Line of Road is closed between Bell and Mount Tomah.
• · The Great Western Highway is closed between Mount Victoria and Wentworth Falls due to snow and ice.
• · Mitchell Highway is closed between Orange and Bathurst.
• · Roads in and out of Oberon including O’Connel Road and Duckmaloi Road are closed.

In the state’s north;

• · The New England Highway is closed between Glen Innes and Armidale.

Conditions are changing quickly so for the latest information visit livetraffic.com or call 132 701. Members of the public are urged not contact police for traffic updates.

A man will appear in Goulburn Local Court today charged with aggravated sexual assault and other offences.

It’s alleged the 34-year-old man attended the home of his former partner after drinking at a local club last night (Wednesday 15 July 2015).

Police will further allege the man sexually assaulted the woman and threatened her with a kitchen knife.

The woman managed to call a family member, who contacted police.

The man fled the premises before police arrived.

Following inquires by officers from The Hume Local Area Command, the man was arrested in Goulburn this morning (Thursday 16 July 2015).

He has been charged with aggravated sexual assault (inflict actual bodily harm); armed with intent to commit indictable offence; and contravene AVO.

The man was refused bail to appear at Goulburn Local Court today.

Police investigating an alleged assault with an act of indecency on a sixteen-year-old boy yesterday have charged a man over the incident.

About 3pm (Sunday 13 July 2015), police will allege a 16-year-old boy was waiting at Goulburn Railway Station when he was approached by a man.

The man allegedly engaged in conversation with the boy and invited him to consume alcohol with him.

A short time later, whilst under the influence of alcohol, the boy was allegedly assaulted with an act of indecency by the man.

A witness to the incident contacted police who arrived a short time later and spoke with the boy.

Officers from The Hume Local Area Command located the man in a nearby hotel and arrested the 36-year-old man.

He was taken to Goulburn Police Station and charged with the offence of assault with act of indecency.

The man was refused bail to appear before Goulburn Local Court today (Monday 13 July 2015).

A man has been charged following investigations into a collision between a motorbike and utility in the Riverina Region in January.

About 10.30am on Sunday 25 January 2015, a motorbike and Nissan Patrol were driving in opposite directions on Muttama Road, Coolac, when they allegedly collided.

The rider, a 52-year-old man, and the pillion passenger, a 47-year-old woman, both died at the location.

The Nissan caught fire and was extinguished by NSW Fire & Rescue.

Emergency services were contacted and officers from Traffic and Highway Patrol and Cootamundra Local Area Commands attended the scene and commenced an investigation.

The driver of the utility, a 60-year-old man, was uninjured and taken to Gundagai Hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing.

A crime scene was established and examined by the Southern Crime Scene Investigation Unit.

Following investigations, Cootamundra detectives served a Future Service Court Attendance Notice on the 60-year-old man yesterday (Tuesday 7 July 2015).

He was charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and two counts of negligent driving causing death.

The man is due to appear before Cootamundra Local Court on Monday 7 September 2015.

Plans to build a truck museum at Gundagai, New South Wales, were boosted by a dinner and road run which raised over $15,000 for the Australian Road Transport Heritage Centre (ARTHC) on June 6 and 7.

A four-lane interstate freeway is no barrier for amorous squirrel gliders in search of a roadside rendezvous, with new research showing “animal bridges” have resulted in a glider generation with parents from both sides of the bitumen.

The results of a study by researchers from the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology is good news for the threatened species’ gene pool, which was at risk of shrinking due to habitat loss and fragmentation.

The squirrel gliders were initially slow to use the three glider poles, which act like stepping stones, and two rope bridges that cross the Hume Highway between Seymour and Benalla in north-east Victoria.

But night cameras, genetic testing and microchipping have provided evidence that the bridges and stepping stones are working in the best possible way.

Cameras have filmed the squirrel gliders clambering across the bridges – with one piece of footage even capturing a glider family on the move.

Road ecologist Kylie Soanes​ from the Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology said a scanner recorded the beginning and end of microchipped gliders’ bridge crossing “like an e-tag”.

Having microchipped around 400 gliders over 10 years, the age, gender and which side of the freeway the animal would normally live on was also known.

“This shows they are using the bridge as part of the habitat,” Dr Soanes​ said. “It has opened up habitat on both sides of the road whereas before they were limited to one side.”

But the most convincing evidence the structures were working were the results of the genetic testing which revealed that some young gliders were “Hume hybrids” – offspring with a parent from both sides of the road.

“If the freeway is separating families then obviously someone is crossing the road for that to happen,” Dr Soanes​ said.

She said because of the land clearing that had occurred in north-east Victoria for farming and agriculture, all of the quality old trees containing hollows gliders liked to nest in were now found along roadsides. This made roadside habitat extremely valuable to the ecosystem and keeping it connected was vital.

“Unfortunately in this kind of landscape, if we can’t keep the gliders near the roadsides we may not be able to keep them at all,” she said.

The Hume Highway is used by about 10,000 vehicles a day, with a quarter of the traffic using the road at night when native mammals like the squirrel gliders are at their most active.

Dr Soanes​ said the cameras had been kept busy recording a variety of native animals using the rope bridges, including brushtail and ringtail possums, cockatoos and even a goanna.

A man has died and a woman left injured after an accident on the Hume Highway in Coolac early this morning (Monday, July 6).
Police are currently preparing a report for the information of the Coroner after the fatal accident.
About 1:10am, a Ford station wagon was travelling south on the Hume Highway, north of Coolac.

As the vehicle approached the south bound Safe T Cam it appears to have left the road and the front offside of the vehicle struck a guard rail, travelled along the gravel verge and struck the camera structure.

As a result the front seat passenger, a 28-year-old man was killed while the 30-year-old female driver of the Ford suffered injuries and after treatment at the scene was conveyed to Wagga Wagga Base Hospital for treatment.

It is understood neither the driver or passenger were from the local area.

The vehicle has been seized for mechanical examination and police will prepare a report outlining the full circumstances surrounding the crash.

Inquires into the incident continue.

The area is not a known accident spot, according to the Rural Fire Service.

The highway remained open while emergency services completed their investigations and the treatment was applied to the occupants of the car.

Police from The Hume Local Area Command have charged a man following investigations into the theft of firearms and ammunition from a home in Yass at the weekend.

About 3am on Saturday (4 July 2015), four rifles were stolen from a home on Orion Street, Yass.

The theft was reported to police and an investigation was commenced.

About 4pm today (Monday 6 July 2015), police attended a home in Nash Place, where they arrested a 38-year-old man.

He was taken to Yass Police Station where he was questioned by police.

As a result of further investigation, police recovered the four rifles from an address in Yass.

The 38-year-old man was charged with break, enter and steal. He was refused bail, and is due to appear in Yass Local Court tomorrow (Tuesday 7 July 2015).

Police are appealing for public assistance after a number of firearms were stolen in a break and enter at Yass on the weekend.

About 3am on Saturday (6 July 2015), a 72-year-old man was at his home on Orion Street, Yass, when he heard noises from his garage.

When he went to his garage he noticed one of his firearms cabinets had been broken in to, with a number of firearms stolen.

Those firearms which are missing include:

– Rifle/CZ/Model 2 Calibre .22

– Rifle/Stirling/1400TS Calibre .22

– Rifle/CZ/452 Classic Calibre .17

– Rifle/Mossberg Calibre 243
Police from The Hume LAC are conducting inquiries in to the incident.