Sunday saw a scene om Lawrence Hargreave drive - which connects Wollongong with Sydney via the new Sea Cliff bridge - that should send shivers down the spine of the state government.
Mid afternoon of a sunny beach Sunday saw the sudden arrival of a severe thunderstorm sending people racing to their cars. Within minutes there was gridlock - miles of cars going nowhere - because of the infamous bottleneck where Lawrence Hargreave drive meets the Princes Highway at Bulli.
The problem is that Lawrence Hargreave drive is a give-way intersection - and the constant and heavy flow of traffic each way on Bulli Pass prevents cars needing to turn right from proceeding. As a result, traffic wanting to turn left to Wollongong is caught in the jam - and this gridlock can extend for miles.
Sunday's incident was frustrating for drivers, but it also gives forewarning of what would surely happen if a natural disaster occurred. In the event of a bushfire local residents and visitors would be unable to escape - and what would happen if the new Tsunami warning system predicted a wave from an offshore earthquake - and advised that the coastal region evacuate ?
The state government has some long term plan for an improved intersection - but experts warn that if may only make the problem worse because it is not a fly-over to separate traffic.
Traffic lights at this intersection would provide a partial solution - but there are no plans in the pipeline. This should be at the head of the list because as things stand there is the chance of major death and destruction if a natural disaster happens to coincide with even a normal traffic flow !
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