But on Sunday it was the foot traffic that filled up the road as thousands of people turned up to walk along a three-kilometre stretch of the new four-lane highway that will bypass the town.

Hundreds of people braved the grey skies and the chilly winter weather to get there for the 10am start and be among the first to walk the bypass.

They queued up in their masses behind the ceremonial blue ribbon, waiting for Kiama MP Gareth Ward and Paul Green MLC to do their thing with the scissors and officially declare the bridge open.

Once the ribbon was cut, the first walkers – including couples, families, dogs and kids on scooters – started the three-kilometre walk which included a 610-metre bridge.

Through the morning, thousands arrived to walk the highway for the first – and probably last – time.

From mid-July it’s expected that the highway will be open to traffic of the vehicular kind.