An expert surveyor and certifier whose property lies in the path of Australia’s biggest infrastructure project, WestConnex, says he has uncovered design flaws that breach conditions imposed by the state’s roads minister.
The flaws relate to one of WestConnex’s crucial stages, the widening of Euston Road in Sydney’s inner west from four lanes to seven, a project designed to allow for the carriage of 50,000 cars a day, up from 6,000 now.
In some areas, the road will be brought to within two metres of homes, separated by a narrow footpath.
Local residents have repeatedly complained that the road is dangerous and will make adjacent properties unlivable.
But one property owner, Patrick McNamara, a surveyor with 40 years’ experience, says he noticed a discrepancy last month which puts the widening project clearly in breach of planning standards.
The ministerial consent for the project requires not only that road widths take into account pedestrian and traffic safety but also comply with guidelines on road design published by Austroads. Those guidelines stress that the distance between an arterial road and homes be at least 4.3 metres.
The ministerial consent also requires an independent audit to scrutinise a project’s compliance with the Austroads guidelines. McNamara says the audit did not consider pedestrian safety.
He has made a formal complaint to New South Wales Road and Maritime Services.
“It’s diabolical, really, no one’s looked at it,” McNamara told Guardian Australia. “I know how these things work, I’ve been in the business 30 or 40 years.
“Someone says the traffic report says [the road] needs to be seven lanes wide, so they just give it to some graduate engineer and say, ‘Give me a seven-lane road through there.’”
Workers began removing trees lining Euston Road in preparation for the widening on Wednesday. That sparked a protest from the WestConnex Action Group, which is seeking to have the entire project halted.
The road widening is taking place about a kilometre from the major WestConnex intersection at St Peters in Sydney’s inner west.
The NSW government, through the WestConnex minister, Stuart Ayres, has acknowledged the temporary disruption caused to residents but said the $16.8bn project would provide huge benefits once complete, particularly for those in western Sydney. WestConnex is designed to cut commute times on Sydney’s notoriously congested roads and the government says it will provide enormous economic benefits to the state.
A Roads and Maritime Services spokeswoman said the footpaths designed as part of the Euston Road widening project met relevant road design and safety standards.
“The designs of footpaths between Sydney Park Road and Maddox Street were displayed in the new M5 environmental impact statement and were approved by the minister for planning last April,” she said.
“A pre-construction safety audit for work on Euston Road was carried out in September last year, with further audits to be carried out as the project progresses.”
A local resident and activist, Carmel Delprat, said the proximity of the road to 90 homes and apartments was dangerous.
“There are fatal accidents just waiting to happen if Gladys Berejiklian builds this road just 180cm from people’s front doors and children’s bedrooms,” Delprat said in a statement issued by the WestConnex Action Group. “It’s not a matter of if but when.”
McNamara agrees the project is dangerous. “Two people can’t walk safely if there are buses or trucks going along there,” he said. “One of the guys nearby said, ‘If i trip out the front door, I’m falling head-first into traffic.’”
Fairfax Media reported last week that the government was considering retrofitting air conditioning units and noise insulation to the apartments adjacent to Euston Road.
