A section of the planned Mt Ousley interchange has been branded “a choke point” and “dangerous” by residents.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But a Roads and Maritime Services report claims there is no danger posed by the section of the interchange.
Roads and Maritime Services called for submissions to the plans for the interchange late last year.
One major area of concern was the northbound on ramp from the interchange onto the M1 Princes Motorway, which was the second-most complained about issue after noise.
People feared an accident due to the apparent conflict between cars using the on ramp seemingly having to merge into a lane used by heavy vehicles slowly climbing Mt Ousley.
READ MORE: Plan to slow down trucks on interchange
“This is a choke point,” one respondent said.
“Faster traffic trying to join a line of very slow trucks who are trying to also move into the far left lane in preparation for climbing the hill.”
Another respondent called it a “dangerous on ramp”.
“Slow trucks trying to merge into the left lanes, while faster cars are trying to merge into the right climbing lane,” the respondent said.
In a response to submissions received about the interchange, Roads and Maritime Services stated cars using the on ramp would not be required to merge onto the motorway.
“The proposed northbound on-ramp will join the M1 Princes Motorway as an additional lane rather than a merge,” the submission stated.
“There will be no requirement for vehicles from Mt Ousley Road to merge until the Picton Road interchange, a distance of five kilometres.”
This is because the on ramp would join the left northbound lane, which would not be accessible to traffic on the motorway before that point.
The report also found traffic modelling showed trucks in the middle lane would be travelling at similar speeds to cars – around 70km/h
Constructing an on ramp to connect with the right hand lane was considered but dismissed due to concerns about worker safety while carrying out construction “in the centre of the motorway at the base of a steep hill”.