Sydney mayor fears there are ‘no plans’ to fix Rozelle interchange chaos

A Sydney mayor says it has become obvious from meeting with NSW transport bureaucrats that they have no plans to properly fix chronic congestion on Victoria Road caused by the Rozelle interchange.

Drummoyne and Gladesville commuters are furious that changes to the sequencing of traffic lights to reduce congestion closer to the Balmain peninsula have caused vehicles to back up further west along Victoria Road in the morning peak.

Canada Bay Liberal Mayor Michael Megna said that apart from tweaks to traffic light phasing and monitoring of congestion, it had become apparent at a recent meeting with Transport for NSW officials that there were “no options or plans” to fix the chronic congestion.

Megna said it appeared inevitable that the council would bear responsibility and the cost of trying to allay the problems the interchange had caused.

“The expectation is that council will need to implement local traffic management plans to address the congestion issues on Victoria Road,” he said.

He will appear at a NSW upper house inquiry into the Rozelle interchange on Wednesday along with Inner West Labor Mayor Darcy Byrne, residents and local business groups.

Traffic on Victoria Road at Gladesville has worsened since the changes to the Rozelle Interchange, locals say.Credit: Rhett Wyman

The opening of the interchange for the WestConnex motorway last November caused severe congestion on roads in Rozelle, Balmain, Drummoyne, Lilyfield and Annandale as motorists struggled to navigate new routes, poor signage and multiple merging of lanes.

Megna also warned that “rat running” is causing bumper-to-bumper traffic on streets north and south of Victoria Road and east and west of Lyons Road.

Roads Minister John Graham said he welcomed the scrutiny the inquiry would bring to the planning, design and delivery of the project.

“The government supported the establishment of the inquiry. The opposition did not,” he said.

“Transport for NSW has worked hard to make changes, including new lanes and traffic light phasing to keep local traffic moving in the most efficient way possible post-opening. Advice to me has been the system will need six months to settle.”

Greens MP for Balmain Kobi Shetty said it was unreasonable for the government to expect residents to continue bearing the brunt of the traffic chaos, particularly after they had dealt with years of disruptions during the construction of WestConnex.

“Transport for NSW have done what they can to squeeze as much traffic as possible through a very constrained system, but it’s clear we need some more bold solutions and the political will to implement them,” she said.

Transurban, which operates WestConnex, acknowledged the congestion on surface roads near the interchange but said its opening had led to faster trips for motorists travelling between the CBD and Sydney’s west and south-west. It cited a trip from Penrith to the CBD via WestConnex taking less than an hour, a saving of almost 10 minutes since the interchange opened.

The toll road operator said in a submission to the inquiry that potential changes to WestConnex’s signage, lane configuration and line marking were under consideration to help allay congestion on surface roads.

However, it said Transport for NSW was responsible for any actions to ease congestion on adjoining or nearby surface roads.

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