Government upgrade for DFO roundabout at Australia Ave, Homebush Bay Drive, Underwood Rd

It’s notorious for crippling gridlock but a long-awaited upgrade is set to ease congestion at the DFO roundabout at Sydney’s Olympic Park. However it will come at an exorbitant cost.

It’s been coined ‘Australia’s worst roundabout’ and now the DFO roundabout at Sydney Olympic Park is finally going to get an upgrade, but it will come at a cost - a whopping $100 million.

On Tuesday, the federal and state governments vowed to each allocate $50 million towards the long-awaited project in an effort to alleviate crippling traffic for residents; shoppers trying to reach the DFO Homebush outlet and spectators attending Sydney Olympic Park sports and entertainment venues such as Stadium Australia.

The long-awaited work at the notorious site at Australia Ave, Homebush Bay Drive and Underwood Rd will include installation of traffic lights to ease the gridlock.

Under the project, Australia Ave and Underwood Rd - which is in the marginal seat of Reid - will also be widened to allow more traffic to flow into the “more efficient” intersection.

Left slip lanes will be provided at all approaches and a U-turn lane installed at the Homebush Bay Drive northbound approach to allow traffic flow back on the southbound ramp towards the M4.

An artist’s impression of the intersection as drivers turn right from Homebush Bay Drive towards Sydney Olympic Park.

Footpaths will be widened to become shared use paths and on-road bicycle lanes will be improved.

Refuge islands and co-ordinated user-activated crossings will be provided at all approaches.

The designs will be displayed for community consultation and, if approved, construction would begin in 2025 and take 18 months to complete.

Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said the upgrade would help connections to Sydney Olympic Park, reduce travel times and increase reliability for local bus routes.

“This is particularly important given the high volume of traffic that this area experiences during major events, and by improving the infrastructure surrounding the Olympic Park precinct, we are ultimately helping to improve the experience of event attendees and maintain our reputation for hosting world class events,” he said.

The ‘DFO roundabout’ at Australia Ave and Homebush Bay Drive is a bottleneck.

Business lobby groups have welcomed the “overdue” election promise after years of lobbying for better infrastructure, including the roundabout and light rail stage two for the booming suburb.

“It must be the most expensive roundabout in Australia, in the world,’’ Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger said.

“It’s been a bugbear for businesses and residents for the last decade. It needs to be unblocked. I think it will be supported by all high-density communities that live around that area like Wentworth Point, Rhodes and Carter Street.’’

Sydney Olympic Park Business Association chief executive officer Allison Taylor was “pleased” with the announcement after lobbying began for the site upgrade in the mid-2000s despite the start of construction “being a little longer than we would have liked”.

“In 2012, when people moved into Wentworth Point, it started getting really bad,’’ she said.

“Anything that can help people get in and out of Sydney Olympic Park is something we welcome and we’ve been pushing for a solution for a long time.

“It’s good to get federals making contributions and federal and state to work together and that’s what we want to happen for the Parramatta light rail stage two as well.’’

Sydney Olympic Park Business Association chief executive officer Allison Taylor also wants the government to shift its attention to stage two of the light rail. Picture: Monique Harmer

Congestion at the roundabout grew worse after the state government axed the $140 million M4-Hill Rd off-ramp project in January last year — a route that would have provided an alternative route into Sydney Olympic Park for westbound traffic.

Wentworth Point resident and community advocate Clement Lun has welcomed the upgrade.

“There’s no other way to fix the roundabout,’’ he said.

“At the moment it’s terrible, especially during the Easter Show and event time. Basically the roundabout is a bottleneck for the entire region so it affects people in Wentworth Point and Newington as well because we need to use that roundabout to go to work.’’

Wentworth Point resident Clement Lun (far left) with other residents who have advocated for better services in their highly-populated suburb. Picture: John Appleyard

The proposed design is known as a “diverging diamond interchange”, is the first of its kind in NSW and was selected following the assessment of 12 options including roundabout improvements, overpasses and underpasses.

The community is invited to comment on the proposal until Sunday, May 29, and Transport for NSW will consider the feedback received before it publishes a summary of the submissions late this year.

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