An eight-year logging operation is starting within weeks to harvest more than 300,000 tonnes of pine planted in the 1990s, at the 910 hectare Ferndale Plantation.

Residents near access to the site in Woomargama National Park received correspondence from PF Olsen Australia that haulage on Tunnel Road would commence on October 21 with "an estimated average of 35 loaded trucks per five day working week".

PF Olsen is the property manager for Murray River Forests, which bought the plantation from Norske Skog, and sawlog and pulpwood is produced.

Norske Skog sold the plantation but kept contracts in place to buy wood fibre.

Southern Region senior forester Ray Krippner said about half of what's harvested would go to Hyne Timber at Tumbarumba and initially, pulpwood would still be taken to Norske but it was unclear would happen past the Albury mill's closure.

"Those [forests] were planted with the intention in the future the fibre supply would go into Norske," he said.

"We received notification last week that the mill was going to look to close sometime in December.

"It's business-as-usual up until they say otherwise.

"We haven't heard anything from Visy yet about what their intentions are and haven't had any conversations with out client who owns the forest.

"It's too early to say if Visy will take up the wood supply.

"The question mark is if Visy doesn't take it, who will take that volume?"

"All the other suppliers would be in a similar position."

Mr Krippner said about half of PF Olsen's supply went to Norkse.

"We're only a small supplier in comparison to the others," he said.

"But it's a big impact for us in terms of what we're doing.

"The difference is we had a new forest at Ferndale that was just going to start."

While the final destination of timber coming out of the Woomargama plantation might change, the route logging trucks take will not - Tunnel Road and Woomargama Way, linking to the Hume Freeway - will remain.

However, it may be more timber is hauled further to Tumut and Tumbarumba.

A new speed limit in Woomargama came into effect this week as residents prepare for the increased logging truck traffic.

A review of the speed zone on Berry Street was triggered by Greater Hume Council approving PF Olsen using B-Doubles, after the company had done road upgrades.

Transport for NSW south west regional director Lindsay Tanner said the 60 kilometre zone was reduced to 50 kilometres from the intersection of Woomargama Way for a length of 800 metres.

"With renewed activity in the area, the number of heavy vehicles accessing the forestry area via Berry Street and Tunnel Road is expected to increase significantly," he said.

"Lowering the limit on this section of road will provide safer travel for all road users while adding just 10 seconds of additional travel time."

Resident Paul Rowe, who raised concerns with council in February about the suitability of B-Doubles on Tunnel Road, said upgrades had been completed.

Council responded that the upgrades funded by PF Olsen would make the road safe for the larger trucks.

"There's sections that are still narrow, and you go from two lanes and back to one in places where there's not enough road to have a dividing lane," he said.

"I think the roadworks done are pretty average.

"We've done what we can and now we have to wait and see."

A number of restrictions will be in place and Greater Hume Council and PF Olsen will be monitoring the logging operations.

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