No permanent solution to Sydney's Rozelle peak hour nightmare

A traffic expert warns there is no permanent solution to ease peak hour congestion at Sydney's new interchange.

Transcript

00:00 It's a race for more space at Sydney's troubled Rosell interchange.

00:06 By day, three lanes of cars squeeze into one.

00:10 By night, work will soon get underway to give drivers more space.

00:14 It will mean physical works, also changes to the lane markings in order to do that,

00:20 and we expect it to be completed for traffic next week.

00:25 This is one of the worst choke points, where the City West Link meets traffic from the

00:29 Crescent Overpass.

00:31 Transport NSW will create 400 metres of extra lane space to try to make it easier to merge

00:37 three lanes into one.

00:39 We have to keep the city moving, we have to keep public transport coming in, and we have

00:43 to give some relief to drivers from those local streets who have been caught up over

00:48 the last week.

00:49 Today, things were running more smoothly, with fewer city workers commuting to the office

00:54 on Mondays.

00:55 The three lane to one lane merge should never have gotten past the design stage, and that

01:00 400 metres will probably reduce the problem, but it's only alleviating the symptoms.

01:05 It's the same squeeze on Victoria Road.

01:08 Transport officials are considering extra lane space here too.

01:12 The permanent solutions are politically unpalatable and they involve behaviour change.

01:16 Things like increasing tolls, changing lanes to favour public transport.

01:22 The state government insists that drivers will get more practised as time goes on and

01:26 congestion will ease.

01:28 But the addition of another major project here, the Western Harbour Tunnel, could make

01:33 things worse again.

01:35 It's going to put even more traffic when that opens in a few years' time.

01:38 For the residents of these suburbs, a quick fix is vital.

01:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]