Transport Minister examines why NorthConnex shut down in record Easter traffic

The Transport Minister has asked for an explanation from the operator of NorthConnex after a crucial on ramp was repeatedly shut over Easter.

The Transport Minister is examining why the state of the art NorthConnex tunnel closed on ramps amid record Easter traffic and has flagged changes to how the city will operate.

Transurban’s NorthConnex, which opened six months ago and cost $3 billion, was forced to close on ramps at Pennant Hills Roads each day of the Easter long weekend, The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday.

The official explanation was that the congested M1 motorway, which runs north to Newcastle, was hitting capacity and NorthConnex partially shut access to ease congestion in other parts of the network.

The on ramp at Pennant Hills Rd. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Christian Gilles

Traffic on the M1 southbound from Brooklyn to Pennant Hills Road on Easter Monday.

Transport and Roads Minister Andrew Constance, on Tuesday, said he’d send his department to look at the choice to close the tunnel after hearing congestion had triggered the partial shutdown.

“I apologise to anyone who was caught up in that traffic and we’re looking at new ways to manage traffic flow,” he said.

Mr Constance said traffic spiked 15 per cent over the weekend “way above what was forecast”.

“The northern route out of the city was really busy all the way up the coast, which had a knock on effect.”

“We’re seeing an increase in the vehicle numbers across the network, especially during holiday times.”

Southbound traffic heads into the Northconex tunnel on Easter Monday.

The road network’s chief operations officer, Howard Collins, said they’d never seen that number of vehicles leaving Sydney saying the problem wasn’t with NorthConnex.

“This is not a NorthConnex issue, this is about managing the traffic flow which was at record numbers,” he said.

NorthConnex’s main feeder, the M2, remained open even when the Pennant Hills on ramps shut.

Transurban said the decision to close the tunnel before it hit its 100,000 car daily capacity was to ensure traffic kept moving and drivers weren’t in gridlock 60 metres underground.

Mr Collins said the focus was now on slowing traffic before the NorthConnex junctions.

“This is all about the flow of traffic into fewer lanes and we are looking at that, having a debrief and it’s an opportunity to understand what we do in the future,” he said.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

NorthConnex also closed during the Christmas holiday period, weeks after it opened, for the same reason.

The tunnel is, in part, designed to get heavy vehicles off Sydney’s crowded streets to allow the neighbourhoods in the city’s north west to escape the endless noise and fumes.

The holiday closures meant the trucks that would have used the tunnel to travel north were forced back onto the despised Pennant Hills Road for the crawl north.

But the NSW government says it will not penalise trucks who can’t use the tunnel in such scenarios.