By Melanie Kembrey
It is the roundabout that comes with a caveat: "Avoid at all costs".
Stay inside, change your work shifts or find a detour - anything to steer clear of what could be Sydney's worst roundabout.
High volumes of traffic from Flemington Markets, a factory outlet and Olympic Park make the spot where Homebush Bay Drive connects with the M4 motorway a nightmare for motorists.Credit: Fiona Morris
This is the rule that residents living near the infamous roundabout, located at the intersection of Australia Avenue, Homebush Bay Drive and Underwood Road next to DFO Homebush, have adopted.
They say it often takes them more than a hour to pass through the roundabout. Police are even sometimes called in to try and manage the gridlock.
"If you mention the roundabout here people just grimace," Wentworth Point resident Bronwyn Evans said.
"People make decisions around how they can avoid the roundabout."
The congestion is unrelenting at peak hour on weekdays as a flood of workers leave Sydney Olympic Park and residents return to their homes in Newington, Wentworth Point and Sydney Olympic Park.
It is equally bad on weekends as shoppers head to and from the DFO shopping outlet and during major events at Sydney Olympic Park.
The roundabout is just one of the many infrastructure problems affecting residents in the so-called "Olympic corridor", where rapid residential development has occurred with very little supporting transport infrastructure.
Ms Evans, who is president of the resident lobby group Wentworth Point Community Central, said residents had moved out of the area after being frustrated by the roundabout.
The 9.5 kilometre trip from her office in Ryde to her home can take 1.5 hours during the evening peak, compared to its usual 20 minutes, due to the traffic bottle-necks at the intersection.
Residents are so frustrated by the traffic that they have even started a Facebook support group, where they post pictures of congestion and vent frustrations about the roundabout.
If you mention the roundabout here people just grimace.
Newington resident Maddie Testa said she "avoids the roundabout like the plague", opting to take a detour and add an extra 10 kilometres to her journey.
"It's an absolute nightmare," she said. "I'm sure anyone you speak to that lives in the area will say the same sort of thing. You do what you can can to avoid it. I think it's just horrible."
There is also a fear that the problem will only worsen as further residential and commercial development takes place at Wentworth Point and Sydney Olympic Park.
NSW Opposition Leader and Auburn MP Luke Foley said it was one of the worst roundabouts in Sydney and usually took 30 to 40 minutes to drive through.
The state government has pledged to spend $12 million reducing congestion along the stretch of road that includes the roundabout, as well as $2 million on increasing capacity through the roundabout.
A plan is being developed to relocate pedestrian-activated traffic lights, usually used by shoppers going to and from DFO, further along Underwood Road away from the roundabout to improve traffic flow.
But residents are sceptical the plan will solve the problem and are resentful after what they say has been "years of neglect".
Roads minister Duncan Gay said the infrastructure problems in the area were a legacy of previous state and local governments and bad planning decisions.
The minister said widening and extending the M4 as part of the WestConnex motorway project, including adding a new access ramp for Homebush Bay Drive motorists, would also help reduce traffic and travel times.
"We agree the roundabout is a problem and we are fixing it," Mr Gay said.
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