Industry leaders warn of traffic congestion and road safety issues if Glebe Island port is shut down

The fallout from closing Glebe Island port will be a city where roads are even more choked by trucks making long-haul trips, the NSW Government has been warned.

The NSW Government should abandon plans to shut down Glebe Island port and focus on Parramatta Road as a solution to delivering more inner city homes, Business Sydney says.

The industry group’s executive director, Paul Nicolaou, has called for the rethink as a range of industry leaders warn how road safety risks and increased congestion will be part of the unwanted fallout if Sydney’s last working port is scuttled.

The future of Glebe Island remains undecided as the government considers using the precinct for high-density developments to complement a Bays metro station planned to come online in 2032.

Consultation between the government and potentially-impacted stakeholders across the construction, food, tourism and events industries who rely on the port for delivery of materials has ramped up over the past fortnight.

Nicolaou said the government should pivot, forget closing Glebe Island port, and look to densify an under-utilised Parramatta Road.

Business Sydney says Glebe Island, main picture, should be left as a working port, and the NSW government should instead to Parramatta to increase housing density near the CBD. Pictures: News Corp

“The loss of Glebe Island as Sydney‘s only remaining area of port infrastructure would be disastrous for our city,” he said.

“Even if it were redeveloped for housing it would deliver relatively few new homes to address the current housing crisis and would not address the need for affordable housing for essential workers.

“In contrast, and only a few kilometres away, there is an opportunity to deliver up to 35,000 new homes with the redevelopment of the urban blighted Parramatta Road.”

A 2024 report from the Port Authority of NSW, a government agency, outlined “the importance of continuing port operations at Glebe Island, and the significant risks and subsequent costs to Sydney and NSW should operations cease”.

The report, prepared by KPMG, said closing Glebe Island port and having materials freighted from Port Kembla or Newcastle to Sydney would result in an extra 226,000 truck movements per year.

It would increase “road congestion and safety costs by $360.2m over 30 years”, and lead to increased emissions of 24,064 tonnes CO2 equivalent per annum.

Business Sydney executive director Paul Nicolaou. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Leading construction figures have also warned the cost of housing materials will jump due to additional transport costs.

A spokesperson for the NRMA told The Daily Telegraph: “We would be concerned about a significant increase in freight coming as a result of the closure of the port and the impact it could have on road safety and congestion.

“We would obviously want government to put in place strategies to ensure that the network is able to do deal with it.

“We’ve made a lot of inroads into removing heavy vehicles off our surface roads and we don’t want to see that go backwards.”

A worker unloads construction material shipped in from Adelaide at Glebe Island Port. Picture: Thomas Lisson

Alistair Kelsh, General Manager Gypsum Resources Australia, said: “We acknowledge and welcome the consultation process now underway with government but … we need an outcome that facilitates both the ongoing function of a working port at Glebe Island along with any residential development.

“Any proposal to shift us all to Port Kembla will simply not work. If we send an extra 14 ships there in any given year it will be chaotic in terms of waiting, and the impacts on supply chains. The portside land there is tightly held. There is no space.

“Ethically we would also have issues with the impact that our 22,000 annual truck movements up and down Mount Ousley, let alone the thousands more required for cement and sugar, would have on congestion and safety for the community and other motorists.”

Michael Kilgariff, CEO of Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia, said the port’s closure would choke roads as more trucks made long-haul trips.

Business leaders say if ships like the Adelie can’t dock at Glebe Island, their loads will be forced onto long haul trucks on already-congested roads. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“It can be done. Industry will always find a way to do it,” he said. “But it will inevitably lead to more trucks on roads and more congestion. The end result will not be optimal for Sydney.”

The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) issued a warning in the past fortnight for heavy vehicle drivers to exercise extreme caution when travelling down steep descents following a series of incidents on Bulli Pass and Mt Ousley.

NHVR Director of Central Region Brett Patterson told the Big Rigs publication: “Over the past few years, we have seen many trucks lose control down these steep descents, leading to serious damage to both vehicles and infrastructure, delays and serious road trauma.”

On the prospect of more truck movements across Mt Ousley if Glebe Island port was closed, Mr Patterson told this masthead: “For any changes to heavy vehicle movements in Greater Sydney, the NHVR would continue to work with Transport for NSW and the heavy vehicle industry to ensure that heavy vehicle movements are safe and efficient.

“Safety is our core objective to protect the heavy vehicle industry and wider community.”

Heathcote, a marginal seat at the last State election, includes the stretch of highway from Port Kembla to Sydney.

Labor Member Maryanne Stuart was approached for comment about the prospect of additional heavy vehicle traffic rumbling through the electorate.

“The NSW Government has not made an announcement in relation to the Bays West (Glebe Island) precinct,” she said.

A Wollongong City Council spokesman said council would continue to advocate for a South Western Rail Line that would connect Wollongong to Western Sydney and reduce vehicle congestion.

“Council’s preference to the movement of any significant increase in products in and out of the harbour is via rail,” the spokesperson said.

Originally published as Industry leaders warn of traffic congestion and road safety issues if Glebe Island port is shut down