Business and families will still be recovering from the border closures well into next year, a business leader says, as authorities prepare to pull down the checkpoints.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Albury Business Connect chairman Barry Young said some hospitality providers' revenue was down by up to 90 per cent.
Member for Farrer Sussan Ley on Friday stopped short of saying the closure was a mistake, but said border residents had paid an "incredibly high price".
Free flow into NSW will resume at 12.01am on Monday.
Changes will be made at the Wodonga Place checkpoint on Sunday morning, with only one lane entering Albury.
Southbound traffic to the Lincoln Causeway will be blocked by the afternoon, with all vehicles to divert to the Hume Highway through Atkins Street.
Superintendent Paul Smith hopes both Albury sites will be completely removed by 6am on Monday.
Smaller checkpoints will likely take a lot less work to remove.
"If you're going to cross ... be aware that there are works going on, be safe, be patient and we'll all get through this by Monday morning and you won't have to worry about any restrictions at all," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS
Permits will still be required right up until the reopening.
Some infrastructure had already been removed at crossings, which have seen about five million vehicle movements since they were erected in July.
Superintendent Smith said it was unclear what delays were likely on Sunday, but said people should avoid the crossings if possible while they were pulled down.
"It's a big task but we're well planned for it," he said.
"If we get that assistance with the public ... we should be back to some normality.
"I'd like to thank border region residents, right from the coast right through to Wentworth, for your patience, for your compliance.
"We have two days to go.
"Please remain safe over that time to get us through."
Mr Young urged people to spend their money in the border region to help businesses recover from the closure.
"It will take some time, well into 2021," he said of the recovery.
"So your support would be greatly appreciated to get these people back on their feet.
"We support local families by employing local people.
"We keep the money in our local economy."
Ms Ley said the community couldn't afford another closure.
"It was the decision that was made with the best available information at the time, and nobody can foresee what's in front of them," she said.
"I accept the decision that the NSW premier made because there was such uncertainty about what was really happening in regional Victoria.
"As it happened, there weren't cases in regional Victoria, but NSW didn't know that.
"But overwhelmingly, we have paid an incredibly high price here on the border."