Council opposed to Westconnex ‘scar’

Thursday, 26 September 2019

Inner West Council is calling on the NSW Government to back away from plans to introduce a Los Angeles-style overpass in the heart of residential Rozelle, Lilyfield and Annandale.

On 14 August the Government announced a modification to the Rozelle Interchange that includes the two lane overpass which would sit up to eight metres above the intersection of the City West Link and the Crescent.

Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne said that Inner West residents were sick and tired of being lied to.

“Government said all along they’d build the entirety of this interchange underground,” he said.

“Now we know that they were misleading people all along. This new overpass along The Crescent will be a real scar on the landscape.

“We’re waiting for yet more modifications because they seem to be dancing to the tune of the road builders.

“It’s what we’ve seen with WestConnex every step of the way – the road builders have been given carte blanche to amend conditions of consent and the Government’s lost control of the project.

“The people of the inner west have been smashed by this project. While we recognise that infrastructure needs to be built, the Government’s dishonest and deceitful approach has really got people off side and we’re sick of the plans being changed every five minutes.

“We want the Government to start coming clean about exactly what the plans are for this, the largest interchange in the southern hemisphere.

“The Premier needs to pull the road builders into line and start listening to the communities concerns about the damaging impact that this modification will have.

“This overpass belongs in downtown Los Angeles not the Inner West of Sydney.”
Inner West Council is urging the NSW Government objecting to the new overpass and seeking information about all traffic impacts on local roads since the opening of Stage One of WestConnex.