Yesterday, the residents of Bulli found the notorious Bulli Pass cordoned off with an exclusion zone because an LPG tanker had crashed and recovery efforts were under way to remove it's volatile cargo. It seems that this truck suffered a mechanical failure and without brakes - the driver attempted to headup one of the safety ramps. This failed, and the truck careered deeply into the surrounding bush, but the tank it carried did not rupture.
This was a matter of sheer luck protecting the people who live at the lower end of Bulli Pass. History carries many reports of out of control vehicles crashing into homes and killing residents, but the damage from a tanker carrying eight thousand litres of LPG crashing and exploding is almost unimaginable.
This raises the question of why trucks carrying dangerous loads are still permitted to use Bulli Pass ? The law requires all bus and heavy vehicle traffic to engage low gear to descend the pass, but in the event of mechanical failure this road is unforgiving - and at the lower end it is lined with people's homes.
It is a fact of life that commercial traffic must use either the F-6 Mount Ousley road entrance to and from Wollongong, or Bulli Pass, but at least the F-6 is multi-lane and for much of it's descent there are more safety measures - and the concrete noise walls give a degree of protection to nearby suburbs. It would not be rocket science to demand that petrol and LPG tankers be required to only use the F-6 option as a safety measure !
Port Kembla is being developed as an alternative to Port Botany. It already serves as the entry point for new motor vehicles and work is under way to expand the docking facilities for more shipping, and this will be in addition to the existing terminals for coal and grain. The only limitations to further expansion is the lack of road and rail access to the rest of this state.
Hopefully, we will soon see a positive outcome in completing the Maldon Dombarton rail link to free up commuter traffic on the existing Sydney line, but there are simply no plans to create an alternative to the slow grind up and down Mount Ousley road - and separate car and heavy vehicle traffic to improve safety.
The only real alternative would be a tunnel through and under the escarpment to create a better gradient and meet up with the F-6 on Maddens Plains. It will be costly, but Port Kembla can not reach full potential until we deal with our road and rail problems.
What can be achieved by a mere stroke of a pen is an edict to ban dangerous goods being transported up or down Bulli Pass. That accident with an LPG tanker provides a strong incentive for immediate action !
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