Boat Harbour Rd closed Monday with school bus solution in place
Published on 11 September 2026
Boat Harbour Road at Sauls Dairy, Utungun, will be closed from Monday 14 September for major culvert replacement works.
Nambucca Valley Mayor Gary Lee said on the eve of construction starting, he had received the great news Transport for NSW had secured a school bus solution to ensure Taylors Arm students could get all the way to school.
“I am extremely pleased after weeks of advocating with Transport for NSW and Busways, they have come good and have found a solution to ensure Taylors Arm school students can be transported all the way to school while Boat Harbour Road is closed for essential works,” he said.
“This is great news for the families who had contacted Council and had expressed they could not feasibly drive their child to Utungun Hall to meet their child’s usual Busways school bus, due to work or other commitments.
“I thank Transport for NSW and our Minister for Roads and Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison for securing a mini-bus through Newcombe Coach Lines to drive the detour road and ensure our local school students get to class.”
The Newcombe’s mini-bus service is operating in conjunction with Busways. Newcombe’s bus service will travel along Taylors Arm Road between Taylors Arm town centre and Utungun Hall, in the mornings and afternoons, weekdays, while Boat Harbour Road is closed at Sauls Dairy.
Newcombe’s morning service will pick up students from Taylors Arm bus stop (ID 2447135) at 8am. It will then go to the Boat Harbour Road/Taylors Arm Road intersection (before the dirt section of road) and pick up any school children there, departing at 8.10am. Next, it will travel along the approximate 7km Taylors Arm Road to Utungun Hall, arriving about 8.25am to meet the Busways school bus.
In the afternoon, Newcombe’s service will leave Utungun Hall at about 3.45pm, travel Taylors Arm Road and arrive at the Boat Harbour Road/Taylors Arm Road intersection at 4pm. It will then travel to Taylors Arm town centre bus stop, arriving at about 4.10pm.
Nambucca Valley Council Acting General Manager David Moloney said it was great to see major works starting on Boat Harbour Road at Sauls Dairy to strengthen it for the future.
“The repair works for Boat Harbour Road are being delivered through $2.4 million from the Australian Government’s Safer Local Roads Infrastructure Program,” he said.
“These works are significant and it will take up to four months for our contractor to complete, weather depending. During this time, all vehicles excluding oversize or over-mass vehicles, such as a special purpose crane vehicle, will need to detour via Taylors Arm Road.
“I thank our community for their patience while we carry out these essential works.”
To demolish the old, deteriorated culverts beneath Boat Harbour Road at Sauls Dairy, Council’s contractor will use excavators to dig down approximately 8 metres safely, benching out the road, and then demolish the culverts. Then the new prefabricated concrete tri-cell box culverts, each approximately 30 metres in length and weighing almost 8.5 tonne, will be placed with a crane.
Due to the size and depth of the excavation needed and the steep topography of the adjacent land, Council’s engineers found closing Boat Harbour Road and detouring traffic via Taylors Arm Road was the only safe option to enable these works.
From Monday 14 September 2026, Boat Harbour Road, at Sauls Dairy, will be closed to all vehicles until about 24 December 2026, weather depending, from just east of the Williams Hill Road intersection to 1 kilometre past the intersection.
Motorists travelling between Taylors Arm and Macksville are encouraged to plan their journeys and allow more time. Additionally, drivers of oversize or over-mass (OSOM) vehicles are being advised they should not assume their vehicle is able to travel safely along Taylors Arm Road. Operators of OSOM vehicles are encouraged to contact Council on (02) 6568 2555 before their time of travel to discuss their vehicle’s dimensions and gross mass. Council will work with OSOM operators to determine if their vehicle can safely travel along Taylors Arm Road or if there is a suitable alternative route for their vehicle.
For more information, community members can contact Council on (02) 6568 2555 or council@nambucca.nsw.gov.au
ALL MEDIA ENQUIRIES TO:
Mr David Moloney
ACTING GENERAL MANAGER
02 6568 2555
DATE: 11 September 2026