The NSW Government is responding to community calls for greater transparency around the Rozelle Interchange, with the release for the first time of travel time data to help motorists plan their trips.
The journey time data tables are designed to assist motorists and public transport commuters to understand trip times based on days of the week and the dual peaks that have been noted since the Rozelle Interchange opened in late November.
Transport for NSW has identified a ‘tradie peak’ around 7am, particularly on the City West Link, and a later commuter peak that is busiest between 8.15am and 8.30am on Victoria Road and City West Link.
Travel times, which will be published weekly on a Friday for about the next three months, will allow motorists and bus users to plan journeys and allow people to avoid the periods of heaviest traffic.
The journey times to be published are:
- Victoria Road from the Gladesville Bridge to Anzac Bridge
- City West Link from Ramsay Street to Anzac Bridge
- Average weekly bus journey times for dedicated routes on Victoria Road
- Average travel times on WestConnex to Anzac Bridge from Parramatta and Beverly Hills
The Transport Management Centre is using travel time monitoring equipment to collect journey times as the performance of roads has fluctuated since the opening of the interchange.
In the first week after Rozelle Interchange opened the average travel time on Victoria Road between Lyons Road at Drummoyne and Anzac Bridge during the morning peak was 62 minutes. Last week, the same trip and time was 30 minutes.
Minister for Roads John Graham said:
“This is a practical intervention to help people plan their trips.
“We are working to bring travel times down on the roads around the interchange.
“While many motorists from Western Sydney are benefiting from large reductions in travel time since the opening of the Rozelle Interchange, the Inner West community has been adversely affected, that is the reality.
“The advice to me from Transport for NSW has been that the road system can take up to six months to settle after the opening of a large new piece of infrastructure like this. As that happens we want people using this available trip time data to inform their journey planning in the AM peak.”
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said:
“We’ve been advocating for the release of this travel time data to give us an evidence base for which mitigations are working around the Rozelle Interchange and so that the community has information to plan their commute.
“It’s a good thing that the NSW Government has listened and this transparency will help give our community confidence that everything possible is being done to fix the congestion we have been dealing with.”