Pittwater, Warringah roads, Dee Why: Call to fix dangerous intersection

It’s one of the busiest and most dangerous intersections on the northern beaches — now a call has gone out to fix this ‘dangerous and time-wasting bottleneck’.

A van on its roof after a collision with a car at the “Officeworks” intersection of Warringah and Pittwater roads. Michael Regan, the Independent MP for Wakehurst, is pushing or the state and federal government to fund an upgrade to make the crossroads safer and less congested. Picture: Supplied

A push to make one of Sydney’s most notorious and dangerous traffic blackspots safer and less congested, has been heard in NSW parliament.

The new MP for Wakehurst, Michael Regan, has officially called on transport authorities to upgrade the intersection of Pittwater and Warringah roads at Dee Why.

Mr Regan described the location, which he referred to as the “Officeworks” intersection, as a “dangerous and time-wasting bottleneck” for northern beaches motorists and residents.

He said the proposal, using a cutting or tunnel — similar to the roadworks completed outside Northern Beaches Hospital at Frenchs Forest — would allow vehicles to swing onto Warringah Rd, from Pittwater Rd, without having to stop at traffic lights.

Speaking during his Notice of Motion last week the MP said the intersection must be immediately placed on an infrastructure priorities list by the new NSW Labor government as well as its federal Labor counterparts in Canberra.

Police and RMS investigate the scene of a motor vehicle accident in October, 2014, where a truck crashed into stationary traffic at the corner of Warringah and Pittwater roads, Dee Why. Picture: Braden Fastier.

In the lead up to the March 25 state election Mr Regan told voters that if elected to parliament, he would lobby for the intersection — the scene of some of the highest profile local road crashes — to be upgraded.

In October 2014, for example, an out of control truck heading east on Warringah Rd, careered through the intersection and hit and crushed a number of cars, leaving seven people badly hurt.

Mr Regan reminded parliament that the crossroads, as part of a proposed upgrade of Pittwater Rd and Condamine St, was on Infrastructure Australia’s priority list.

A semi-trailer rolled over on the notorious Pittwater Rd and Warringah Rd intersection in December 2015. Picture: Annika Enderborg

Mr Regan also called on parliament to note that a costed proposal existed to separate Pittwater and Warringah roads at their intersection to allow traffic to flow more freely.

In its priority list report Infrastructure Australia, a federal government agency, stated that the A8 corridor between the northern beaches and North Sydney, which includes the Officeworks intersection, was one of the five most congested roads in Sydney.

“Traffic flow … is impeded by several pinch points in the corridor which result in queuing and increased travel times,” the report stated.

“Underperforming intersections result in delays for traffic travelling along and crossing the corridor. Currently, the Pittwater Rd/Warringah Rd/Harbord Rd intersection experiences queues of over 500m during AM peak and 600m during PM peak.

“Capacity constraints on the A8 corridor could be addressed through a range of interventions, including intersection upgrades and road widening.”

Mr Regan said on Monday that he wanted to remind the state and federal government’s that the idea of an upgrade of the intersection should not be dropped because road congestion was a big issue on the northern beaches.

Officeworks at the corner of Pittwater and Warringah roads where Michael Regan MP suggested a major upgrade was needed. Picture: Annika Enderborg

“It needs to remain. It’s part of one of the top five busiest roads in the country, nor just the city.

“I’ve put forward that motion to put pressure on the state government to look at how they can match (federal). funding.”

Transport for NSW said in a statement on Monday that it did not have current plans to upgrade the intersection of Warringah and Pittwater Rds.

But it did say that it regularly undertakes corridor planning reviews and studies for state-classified roads to identify opportunities to improve network efficiency, safety and connectivity.

“This includes the Pittwater Rd corridor,” a spokesman wrote.

“Transport will continue to work collaboratively with Northern Beaches Council to identify network improvement opportunities on this key state-road corridor.”