A confusing sign on Sydney’s new ‘spaghetti junction’ has added to traffic chaos as 16.6km of new tunnels – known as the Rozelle Interchange – opened to drivers for the first weekday.
The NSW government had warned the new interchange could lead to up to six months of increased congestion while drivers get used to the new set-up, with Premier Chris Minns admitting one sign in particular did not make it any easier for drivers on Monday.
The new interchange in Sydney’s Inner West was opened on Sunday after years of construction and the state’s government releasing videos teaching drivers how to navigate each of its routes.
While the first drivers passed through the interchange with minimal incidents on Sunday, a single sign brought traffic to a standstill during its first morning rush on Monday.
The sign at the entrance of the new 1.1km tunnel that bypasses Victoria Road, linking the Iron Cove and Anzac Bridges and is the only section of the interchange that’s free to use, told commuters they would have to pay to use it.
The incorrect signage saw drivers making last-minute lane changes to avoid the bypass, leading to standstill traffic stretching back from Victoria Road.
A single sign for Inner West Sydney’s Rozelle Interchange has caused standstill after it told motorists they would pay a toll to use the Victoria Road Bypass, a toll-free road (pictured)
While traffic continued to back up over the Gladesville Bridge, NSW State Premier Chris Minns told 2GB the inter change was ‘clearly… confusing – a lot of cars’ GPS hasn’t caught up’.
He said that the government will ‘change that sign’ while portable electronic signs would be used in the interim to tell commuters they won’t have to pay a toll on the bypass.
One local took to social media to vent their anger over the mishap, saying ‘traffic has never been that bad’.
‘What muppets thought the new set up was going to work,’ he wrote.
Minns is confident that the interchange would curb traffic once motorists become accustomed to the new routes.
‘I think traffic behaviour will catch up, but obviously we want to make sure that there are no accidents and there are no delays for people who think that you have to pay a toll,’ he said.
Even when commuters get used to the new interchange, those wishing to use the section of Victoria Road above the bypass could also be struck with altered traffic conditions.
The Inner-West Council is intending to pursue further works in the area to turn Victoria Road into ‘a more place-focussed and less movement-focussed corridor’.
In a recent public exhibition for community comment, the council laid out it’s plans to lower speed limits across the Inner-West, with Victoria Road between Terry and Robert Street potentially dropping from 60km/h to 50km/h.
Live footage of traffic showed motorists on their Monday morning commute in a standstill stretching from the sign at the entry of the bypass to far past the Iron Cove Bridge (pictured)
The Minns Government warned the interchange could lead to up to six months of increased congestion while drivers get used to the interchange’s new 16.6km of tunnels (pictured)
Just under a month prior to the interchange’s opening, the state government released a baker’s dozen of videos demonstrating how to navigate each of the confusing routes.
The videos from a driver’s perspective show motorists how to traverse the new tunnels with instructions appearing at each step.
Transport for NSW Coordinator General, Howard Collins, said the videos will ‘help people familiarise themselves with the new routes’.
However one local told Daily Mail Australia that the videos wouldn’t be of much help because she and her friends will just end up relying on their phone’s directions instead.
‘I just don’t think it’s realistic for me to try and recall a video that I watched earlier when I’m focussed on other drivers who probably didn’t watch it,’ she said.
More to come.
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