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Motorists are warned that congestion will worsen during morning peaks when the Rozelle interchange opens late this year.Credit:Dylan Coker

Traffic on a stretch of Victoria Road between the Iron Cove and Anzac bridges is expected to drop when a 1.1-kilometre tunnel bypass in Rozelle opens by December as part of the $3.9 billion interchange.

However,the NSW government warns that the modelling suggests some delays should be expected on Victoria Road,the Anzac Bridge and the Western Distributor until motorists become accustomed to new lanes and changes in traffic movements.

Transport for NSW has advised that it will take about six months for motorists to adapt to the new conditions after the interchange opens.

Roads Minister John Graham said the modelling from Transport for NSW indicated that the previous Coalition government’spromises of major reductions in traffic on a stretch of Victoria Road would not be the case.

“I don’t understand how the former government could have made these promises,” he said.

“We are going to see delays along Victoria Road when the Rozelle interchange opens. This will particularly impact commuters from western Sydney who are trying to access the city via the Anzac Bridge.”

The government declined to release the traffic modelling to theHerald.

It said it was investigating measures to keep traffic flowing,including changes to bus lanes to give public transport priority and improve travel times.

A worker walks through one of the Rozelle interchange’s road tunnels.Credit:Jessica Hromas

Coalition roads spokeswoman Natalie Ward said Labor had been in power for six months and was already showing it could not deliver major infrastructure correctly.

“If this is such a massive issue,the minister for roads should have already ordered his new[Transport for NSW] secretary Josh Murray to find a solution,” she said.

The Rozelle interchange,which is part of the $17 billion WestConnex project,will connect the recently opened M4-M8 Link between St Peters and Haberfield,the City West Link,the Anzac Bridge,Iron Cove and,by 2028,theplanned $7.4 billion Western Harbour Tunnel.

The government has indicated that full relief from congestion on major inner-city roads will not occur until the opening of the Western Harbour Tunnel,which will allow motorists to bypass the Anzac Bridge and Western Distributor to get to and from the north shore.

Transurban,which operates WestConnex,said this month that congestion on the Anzac Bridge and Victoria Roadwould remain a problem until the Western Harbour Tunnel opened in 2028.

Ahead of the opening of the Rozelle interchange,Transport for NSW is integrating electronic road signs on the Western Distributor to provide motorists real-time speed limit and lane changes,and road incident alerts.

The government said work on other improvements to the Western Distributor such as changes to an off-ramp and an intersection in Pyrmont would also begin within the next few months.

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