Rozelle interchange: hundreds of residents vent frustration over traffic chaos as inquiry begins

Hundreds of Sydney residents have vented their frustration about the traffic chaos caused by the Rozelle interchange in a survey released on the first day of an inquiry into the $3.9bn junction.

The Balmain MP, the Greens’ Kobi Shetty, said it was not good enough for the government to tell the community that the slated opening of the western harbour tunnel would ease their traffic woes.

“The message coming from the government … is to suck it up, we’ve got to wait until 2028 when the western harbour tunnel opens, another toll road will solve this problem,” she told the hearing.

Locals who spoke at the hearing raised concerns about what they claimed had been a lack of communication from transport bureaucrats and John Holland CPB, the construction company the government hired to build the interchange.

The Balmain resident Will Atkins said WestConnex had caused “community damage” and severed potential connections between bus, light rail, and forthcoming metro services.

“It doesn’t take a genius, or even a qualified transport planner, to understand building more roads specifically designed to carry private cars into the CBD was doomed to failure,” he said.