Those who drive along the M1 Princes Motorway up and down Mt Ousley regularly would have noticed the road getting busier each year.
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Each year there seems to be more trucks and more cars either climbing or coming down Mt Ousley.
Still it comes as a shock hear that this key road to and from Sydney will be at capacity in just a handful of years.
According to a joint report from the Illawarra Business Chamber and the NRMA, the M1 Princes Motorway is likely to reach its peak-hour capacity in 2024 and overall daily capacity two years later, in 2026.
Daily traffic volumes on Mount Ousley have been growing at between 3 and 4 per cent per year.
But the number of heavy vehicles using the road grows by 6 per cent per year.
That means more trucks using the slow lane heading north, leaving just two lanes for all other traffic.
The report noted that during peak hour, traffic volume heading north is 3400 vehicles, of which around 500 are heavy vehicles.
So that means the outside two lanes of the motorway have to carry a total of 2900 vehicles in that hour.
“An average of 1500 vehicles per lane per hour on a steep grade represents a traffic flow that is close to capacity,” the report noted.
It’s a bleaker picture when it comes to Picton Road, where traffic volume is increasing by 7 to 8 per cent a year.
With those growing numbers, it is predicted that Picton Road will reach peak-hour capacity in just four years and overall capacity in seven.
With these sorts of numbers, it’s easy to see why the report calls for upgrades to both these routes by 2025.
While reaching capacity doesn’t necessarily mean there is no space on the road, it does mean drivers can expect to experience substantial delays on a daily basis.
Given the numbers of people who drive to Sydney – whether it be the CBD, southern or western suburbs – for work and the heavy vehicles going to and from Port Kembla, these two roads need to function as best they can.
Otherwise, not only will it reduce the work opportunities for those who live in the Illawara – or force some to move from the region to be closer to their workplaces – it will also severely limit the future growth of the port of Port Kembla.
