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Traffic at the Rozelle Interchange on its second day of operation.Credit:Louise Kennerley

Traffic engineers say the measure will provide more space for cars to merge safely closer to the Anzac Bridge and will improve flow onto the bridge,but will not create a complete second lane.

The tweaks were devised after Roads Minister John Graham called a crisis meeting of senior department staff on Sunday ahead of the new working week,when traffic is expected to return to a crawl,particularly on Tuesday,when more drivers are on the roads.

The opening of the new Rozelle Interchange has caused major traffic chaos for drivers in its first week of operation,leaving packed buses unable to move as a once 15-minute trip from Balmain to the CBD became a 45-minute journey.

As a result of the crisis meeting,Transport for NSW will also investigate the potential to provide more lane space on Victoria Road in the area before it merges into one lane to join the Anzac Bridge.

But the agency has stressed that neither option will create an extra lane on the constrained Anzac Bridge. Instead,to help flow across the bridge,Transport for NSW will make “operational changes to the network that will help traffic on the Western Distributor”.

Before the Rozelle interchange opened,seven lanes merged into four on the Anzac Bridge. Now,10 lanes are merged into four with the extra lanes from the spaghetti junction.

Graham said the emergency works would be completed by next weekend.

“These are sensible recommendations from Transport for NSW that we believe will make a positive difference to get traffic flowing – but we must be vigilant that we do not simply shift the problem up the road in what is a constrained traffic environment since the opening of the new Rozelle Interchange,” Graham said.

“Work will begin at night and Transport has already done a lot of work to effectively re-design the road. I want to thank motorists again for their patience as we try to make the right changes to the system as it settles.”

Earlier on Sunday,Premier Chris Minns said he appreciated drivers’ increasing frustrations but was wary of any knee-jerk reactions in case it exacerbated the problems.

“We understand that for many people it’s taking way too long to get short distances to work as a result of these changes to the road network and ... we know that we have to find a solution,” he said.

“Part of it will be people becoming more confident with using that road,understanding where the exit points are,where the entry points are,realising that many options won’t attract any toll at all and will actually result in a quick commute to work.”

He said at midnight on Saturday – when there was no traffic on the road – the trip along Victoria Road between Lyons Road and the Anzac Bridge took seven minutes. On Tuesday,it took one hour,although that decreased to 30 mins by Thursday,the premier said.

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