Concerns about congestion and an increased risk of truck-car accidents feature in public submissions for the M1 Princes Motorway interchange.
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The interchange at the base of Mt Ousley would remove the right hand-turn from Mt Ousley Road onto the motorway and add a northern entrance to the University of Wollongong.
Roads and Maritime Services have released a report of the public consultation about the interchange.
One of the key concerns with the preferred design option raised by the public was the location of the two roundabouts on the overpass.
“There were a number of comments that considered the two roundabouts on the interchange were too close to each other and to the M1 Princes Motorway,” the report stated.
"Many questioned the efficiency of the proposed set-up and wondered if this design would lead to queuing on the interchange ramps and on Mt Ousley Road during peak times."
Suggested options to alleviate this included dedicated lanes to allow some traffic to avoid the roundabouts.
The truck bypass lane also raised some concerns – even though 78 per cent said they were in favour of it.
Crucial among their concerns was that cars looking to take the University Avenue exit from the motorway would have to merge across trucks as the bypass lane rejoins the motorway.
Also, some heavy vehicles would be required to merge across several lanes of traffic in a short space of time in order to fit under the University Avenue overpass.
Some respondents commented on the lack of northbound access to the interchange.
“The comments and concerns raised by stakeholders and the community during the display of the preferred option have been provided to the design team for consideration, and where possible, will be used in refining the design and in identifying potential opportunities for minimising impacts on the local community,” the report stated.