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Traffic chaos continued to plague roads around Sydney’s new Rozelle interchange on Tuesday as recurrent choke points became clear, and the government asked motorists to be patient as people adjusted to the new conditions.
A multi-prong merge from Victoria Road on to the Anzac Bridge, delays through Annandale to the new bypass, and confusing bus lane arrangements in Rozelle all contributed to drivers’ frustration during the second morning peak since the underground spaghetti junction opened.
Heavy congestion plagued Victoria Road through Rozelle for the second morning in a row.Credit: Louise Kennerley
Commuters endured journey times of 40 minutes from Rozelle to the foot of the Anzac Bridge, or more than a quarter of an hour to crawl one block city-bound on Johnston Street.
Balmain Greens MP Kobi Shetty, who was herself stuck on a bus on the City West Link on Tuesday morning, said conditions on day two were “slightly better but still absolutely unacceptable”. She asked the government to review options immediately rather than wait to see if traffic improved.
“Some of it may be teething issues, but there have certainly been issues with some directions being bottlenecked into really big pinch points,” Shetty said. “If they leave it like that, it’s going to be a problem longer term.”
In a statement, Transport for NSW said it would take up to six months for the network to “settle” around Rozelle as motorists adapted to the new conditions, and thanked them for their patience.
It said the new offset bus lane on Victoria Road was permanent, and would improve efficiency by reducing interference between buses stopping at bus stops and vehicles turning left.
The department did not answer a question about whether the three-to-one merge from Victoria Road to the Anzac Bridge was set in stone or could be changed. It defended the flyover from The Crescent to the Anzac Bridge, saying its capacity was “designed to accommodate the anticipated demand from Annandale”.
Inner West Labor mayor Darcy Byrne said he would insist on transparency from the government about traffic data for Victoria Road and the City West Link, having been sceptical about mooted reductions in traffic on the thoroughfares.
“We always worried that WestConnex could be a tunnel to a traffic jam, and it’s no surprise that the first few days have been chaotic,” he said.
On Tuesday morning, three Herald reporters took different journeys through the junction to road test the new arrangements. This is what they encountered.
Anthony Segaert, urban affairs reporter: Rozelle to the city
Shortly after 8.30am I start my journey to Town Hall from Terry Street, Rozelle, just metres past the new tunnel entrance. Traffic is so banked up that only one car can turn onto Victoria Road each time the light goes green.
There are ostensibly four lanes of traffic headed into the city, but now two are effectively bus lanes – the official bus lane in the second southbound lane, and the far-left lane where the buses pull in to stop. It takes 10 minutes to crawl 90 metres, as the radio news tells me: “It’s another slow morning on the surface roads of Drummoyne and Rozelle”. I’m all too aware.
All told, it takes 40 minutes on Victoria Road for the Anzac Bridge to come into sight. Google tells me the walking time is 17 minutes. Only now does the merging chaos begin.
Three lanes become two as we turn left toward the bridge. New traffic lights have been installed to help motorists merge into single file; they flash green to let one vehicle through at a time. Seconds later, we merge once again, this time with the bus lane.
Traffic from Rozelle, heading toward the camera on the left-hand side of this photo, is forced into one lane before merging with the tunnel traffic.Credit: Louise Kennerley
Just when you thought you were done: surprise, there’s one final merge. It’s now 9.19am, and I am finally on the home stretch over the Anzac Bridge. It’s a good run – no wonder; everyone else is still stuck behind me, waiting to merge.
Caitlin Fitzsimmons, senior writer: Stanmore to the Anzac Bridge
After a good run down Johnston Street through Annandale, I join the queue of traffic backed up waiting to get on the new ramp over Rozelle interchange. I crawl past Rose Street at 7.53am, and at 8.09am, inch past Weyton Street. It has taken 16 minutes to go one block, or 240 metres.
There were also long queues of cars waiting on both Rose and Weyton streets, trying to turn left onto Johnston.
Traffic from the inner west – from the City West Link and The Crescent – moves toward the Anzac Bridge.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
There is only one lane turning left at the end of Johnston bound for the ramp, and so cars in the right-hand lane are now trying to merge into mine. There really needs to be two lanes here. By 8.16am, I have finally turned left on to The Crescent. It took 23 minutes to travel 450 metres.
Once I am finally on the ramp over the City West Link and heading toward the Anzac Bridge, the route was well signposted and traffic flowed smoothly. It’s certainly much better than the dog’s breakfast of lane changes that existed during construction.
Michael Koziol, Sydney editor: Glebe to Drummoyne and back
In the days since the interchange opened, I’ve tried out both the tunnel and Victoria Road. Let’s be clear: the tunnel from Drummoyne to the Anzac Bridge is great. It’s free, and ought to take lots of traffic off Victoria Road.
The biggest oversight seems to be that traffic from the north – Drummoyne, Ryde, Lane Cove, etc – heading to the inner west cannot use the tunnel and must still take Victoria Road through Rozelle. Nor is this route signposted; signs for Victoria Road simply say: “Balmain.”
The tunnels either go to the city, or the airport/Port Botany. That means anyone going towards Glebe, Sydney University, Annandale, Leichhardt or the M4 must use Victoria Road. It makes me wonder whether the grand plans to turn this much-hated highway into a tree-lined, low-traffic boulevard through Rozelle will ever come to fruition.
On Tuesday morning there were plenty of portable electronic signs reassuring drivers the tunnel into the city is toll-free, after mass confusion during the Monday peak. But there were still many drivers making last-minute lane changes as they approached the tunnel mouth. A lone transport management commander watches from beside his van, carrying a clipboard.
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