Parliamentary Inquiry into the “disastrous” Rozelle Interchange begins

by GRACE JOHNSON

An Upper House Committee Inquiry into the “disastrous” Rozelle Interchange will begin hearings this week, with a public forum set to go ahead this afternoon.

The news comes after Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne in February called for a Parliamentary Inquiry into WestConnex and the Rozelle Interchange to find out if anybody knew about the design of the infrastructure.

“One week since the return of schools and peak traffic it’s now clear that the traffic chaos at the Rozelle Interchange is permanent and caused by a defective design,” Byrne said in February.

“For years we warned that this would be a tunnel to a traffic jam and it’s now obvious to all that we were right.”

Upon the project’s opening in December, the state government had to call a crisis meeting after significant traffic congestion in Sydney’s inner west – the opposite of what the government had originally hoped to achieve.

“The Parliament must investigate who is responsible for the disastrous design flaws in WestConnex,” said Byrne previously.

According to Member for Balmain Kobi Shetty, the Inquiry is a welcome step “after the continuing impacts of months of extensive delays and disruptions following the opening of the Rozelle Interchange.”

“We need this committee inquiry to get to the bottom of how they got the Rozelle Interchange so wrong, and what workable solutions can be put forward to fix this traffic disaster.”

It’s unreasonable for the government to expect the community to continue bearing the brunt of the traffic chaos, she continued, especially after years of disruptions during construction.

The public forum will allow residents to share with the Committee directly how the Interchange has impacted them.

“From young high school students forced to hop off buses and walk to school to avoid being late to emergency doctors unable to get to the hospital quickly enough in a critical situation – these are stories that need to be heard,” said Ms Shetty.

The open forum is scheduled for 2:45 – 3:45pm this afternoon and will be held in NSW Parliament House this afternoon.