Overheight trucks blocking Harbour tunnel costing Sydney millions
As an oversized truck brings Sydney Harbour Tunnel traffic to a halt for the third time in two days, Premier says bans for offending vehicles or suspending registrations could end the chaos.
NSW
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Hours after NSW Premier Chris Minns gave a stern warning to overheight truck drivers if they disobey new laws about using the Sydney Harbour Tunnel, traffic ground to a halt for the third time in two days.
Hot on the heels of traffic gridlock closing the Harbour Tunnel on two separate occasions on Tuesday, another blockage was sparkled about 1pm Wednesday when an oversized truck heading south sparked tunnel sensors.
Traffic was halted for 20 minutes until the truck was reversed out and placed into a slip lane at 1.18pm, where it will await further inspection.
Earlier, Mr Minns said the NSW Government wanted changes to address the continuing problem “because the situation as it currently stands is intolerable”.
“They include a range of changes that the Minister for Roads is pursuing,” he told Ray Hadley on the 2GB radio show on Wednesday.
“You’ve spoken about some of the infrastructure changes I’m particularly looking at enforcing the rules around suspending registration for trucks, taking them off the roads for 3-6 months which would undeniably send a message both to the operator, the owner, the driver of the truck or even the company.
“If this happens, you’ll be directly economically hit as a result of inconveniencing hundreds of thousands of people.”
Over-height trucks have blocked Sydney’s Harbour Tunnel almost once every three days this year, an estimated $55 million hit the economy, with two blockages in one day causing traffic chaos on Tuesday.
But the impact on commuters – and Sydney’s economy – before 2023 is a mystery, because Transport for NSW only started collating data about overheight trucks this year.
On Tuesday morning, Sydneysiders suffered another morning of peak hour chaos when an over-size truck triggered Harbour Tunnel sensors.
The truck set off height sensors on the Warringah Freeway on its southbound approach into the tunnel at 7.48am Tuesday.
It was moved and all lanes reopened by 8.11am, but the disruption led to a massive traffic backlog, with up to 20km of delays.
Another overheight truck brought southbound traffic to a standstill at the tunnel just before 6pm, with motorists queued back along the Warringah Freeway for several kilometres to Cammeray.
The vehicle was reversed out by 6:30pm and all lanes reopened soon afterwards.
But the pair of incidents led to fresh calls for an immediate ban on heavy trucks using the tunnel to prevent further commuter chaos until a more permanent solution can be found.
However, Roads Minister John Graham on Tuesday said a ban is not an option because most trucks are already too heavy to use the bridge.
Wednesday’s stoppage is the 55th “overheight incident” this year, according to Transport for NSW data. The tunnel has been blocked around 46 days this year.
“Sydney can no longer afford or tolerate any further overweight truck incidents blocking the Sydney Harbour Tunnel,” Business Sydney CEO Paul Nicolaou said.
The peak body estimates Sydney’s economy takes a $1.1 million hit every time an overheight truck blocks the tunnel.
“There is no choice now for the Minns Government other than to immediately ban large trucks of this kind from using the Sydney Harbour Tunnel under threat of even heavier penalties,” Mr Nicolaou said.
He wants a ban until overheight trucks can be diverted earlier.
Premier Chris Minns said “everything is on the table” to stop the delays which are becoming “intolerable”.
Mr Graham said a ban would not work because most trucks are already too heavy to use the Harbour Bridge.
“Closing the tunnel to trucks would precipitate truck drivers using alternative routes across Sydney that in some cases would add 42 kilometres to the current route between Port Botany and the M1 at Wahroonga,” he said.
He said the government is working with the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator to “chase down trucking companies through the courts when their drivers are doing the wrong thing”.
Road Freight NSW CEO Simon O’Hara said a ban would be a “knee-jerk reaction” that would cripple small businesses.
“We cannot compromise freight operations across NSW, by selectively banning some vehicles from our roads,” he said.
Mr O’Hara said banning large trucks from the tunnel would shift more freight onto suburban roads.
He said more “public awareness and education” is required, particularly for drivers from interstate our outside of Sydney.
Mr Minns said he has spoken to his Roads Minister John Graham about taking further action.
“We have to stop this from happening,” he said.
The Premier blamed a breakdown in communication for drivers not getting the message.
“I’m not sure whether as a result of the skill shortage across Sydney, you’ve got more inexperienced drivers that have bigger loads bigger trucks and not understanding how to navigate Sydney’s traffic the way they should,” Mr Minns said.
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