Off ramp ‘bloody dangerous’

KATINA CURTIS
news@kiamaindependent.com.au

Kiama Council says the Munna Munnora off ramp is a potentially deadly intersection and has asked the RTA to make the work match the original plans.

The council’s traffic committee recently inspected the off ramp and raised a number of concerns, particularly the camber of the corner and the lack of an acceleration lane for northbound traffic.

The ramp was intended to get large vehicles out of Kiama’s CBD, but local heavy vehicle operators including Kiama Coachlines and the council itself say they will not use it as it is.

Kiama Coachlines owner Gerard King was worried his drivers would be at risk of rolling and called the situation ridiculous.

Rob Danby, from Cukuna, said while he was not concerned about his company’s trucks using the ramp, he was worried about semi-trailer drivers who did not know the area.

“If they’re going to turn off that highway into a lane that slopes the wrong way and if a car comes up behind them, particularly when it’s wet, there’s going to be some almighty great prangs there,” he said.

Traffic committee member Ray Redgrave, who has a truck licence, said top heavy vehicles such as fire trucks and petrol tankers would be at particular risk of rolling over.

“It’s going to be bloody dangerous and the fact is it won’t achieve what it was meant to,” he said.

The council’s engineering and works director, Bryan Whittaker, said the RTA’s original design would not have caused these problems.

“The plan that was on exhibition was a conceptual plan, not an engineering design, but it clearly showed an acceleration lane for trucks coming into town,” he said.

“The RTA had indicated some time last year that they were considering the exclusion of the acceleration lane. I told them that council was very concerned about that prospect.

“It was not until recently with the line marking done that we realised that had happened.”

Traffic committee chair Cr Joyce Wheatley said the amendments should have been exhibited to the community.

“It’s been changed without any reference to the community and certainly without any reference to those heavy vehicle operators who would be using it,” she said.

An RTA spokesman said the new design, without the acceleration lane, was more cost-effective.

Mr Whittaker said the acceleration lane could still be constructed and the RTA had indicated this would cost about $50,000.

“To me, in the order of the cost of the total project, that’s a fairly minimal price to pay to get the outcome,” he said.

“It would be a crying shame if the ramp was presented to the public as it is at the moment.”