The New South Wales Government has announced the Kings Highway will receive key safety upgrades following the release of a review by Transport for NSW.

The review addressed the alarmingly high rates of crashes and fatalities on the major highway, and conducted extensive community consultation to assess how improvements could be made.

“We will improve the road surface and surrounds, improve signage and safety barriers, reconsider whether current speed limits are appropriate and work to address issues of driver fatigue,” State Roads Minister Duncan Gay said.

Both speed and fatigue were found to be significant issues on the Kings Highway, half of the crashes involving speed or fatigue involved local residents.

Funding for the proposed safety works will be drawn from the Road Toll Response Package.

Since 2000, 38 people have died on the 117km inspected by the NSW Government.

The highway, which links the ACT and the NSW South Coast, was the subject of site inspections by Transport for NSW, Roads and Maritime Services, NSW Police, NRMA, the Rural Fire Service and community representatives.