Kembla-Sydney corridor choking already: draft strategy

The main road corridor connecting Port Kembla to Sydney is already congested and will be 20% over capacity within 10 years, according to a new AusLink draft strategy for the network. The draft report confirms what logistics and road transport groups have long believed: that Mount Ousley Road will struggle to cope with the volume of freight using it when vehicle imports shift to Port Kembla from 2008. The strategy, one of 24 studies commissioned to look at AusLink networks around Australia, predicted that total freight traffic would grow by 3.3% a year to 27m tonnes each year by 2025. Most of the 240,000 vehicles presently coming to Sydney Harbour will need to be moved by road back to Sydney for processing before being delivered to dealerships. The draft strategy found that, while divided in places, the main road corridors such as Mt Ousley Road, the Princes Highway and Southern Freeway, were unsafe in places during peak periods. The document cited regulations that will limit heavy vehicles to using the roads at the same time as the bulk of the regular car traffic, between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday. &#8220Safety is a concern, with a higher than average crash rate especially in fog and wet weather, along the Bulli Pass and Mount Ousley Road,&#8221 the strategy said. &#8220Congestion is an issue for road transport on Mount Ousley Road and the Princes Highway between Heathcote and Blakehurst during peak periods.&#8221 Australian Logistics Council (ALC) executive director Hal Morris questioned whether enough had been done to address the many concerns expressed by the operators and the customers. Mr Morris said the ALC wanted to see a comprehensive logistics solution for the numerous concerns. &#8220Once we’ve got these cars into Port Kembla, how are we going to get them out of Port Kembla?&#8221 Mr Morris said. &#8220We’re calling on all the parties to come up with a total logistics solution rather than piecemeal solutions.&#8221 Mr Morris questioned the feasibility of plans to revive the Maldon-Dombarton rail line, a project funded by the NSW Government in the mid 1980s but later abandoned. The line was to be a dedicated freight corridor connecting Port Kembla with south-western Sydney, coincidentally where many of the cars will need to be taken for processing. About one-third of the line is incomplete, with an unnamed private company sounding out interest in July 2006 to finish the line. Some locals MPs, including the federal member for Cunningham, Sharon Bird, have called for the Federal Government to fund the completion of the line. But Mr Morris said it remained to be seen if the vehicle trade would be simplified by a shift to rail, because there were inadequate facilities at the Sydney end to handle the volumes. &#8220That seems to me to add additional expense for the person that will ultimately purchase the motor vehicle,&#8221 Mr Morris said. &#8220Every time you pick it up and move it, it’s an additional charge.&#8221 The draft strategy is open to public comment until March 2, with a final document to be completed by mid-year.

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