Drivers may finally have a way out of an infamous “gridlocked” intersection in North Parramatta, with a new solution tabled by Council.
A “diverging diamond interchange” could finally improve the traffic nightmare that is the James Ruse Drive and Windsor Road intersection in North Parramatta, according to City of Parramatta Council.
Saying it’s one of the roads she receives the most complaints about, Independent Councillor Georgina Valjak added that the diverging diamond interchange was “worth a shot” to improve the notorious intersection.
“This intersection is the cause of traffic building up along Church Street, North Parramatta, roads in Northmead and Windsor Road – effectively gridlocking entire suburbs like Northmead, North Rocks and Winston Hills,” she said.
“One of the most impacted roads is North Rocks Road, which traffic can be backed up for kilometres, with one resident sharing with me that it takes a total travel times for 2km along North Rocks, heading to Church Street, over 40 minutes during peak time.”
An initial investigation by Council revealed conversion of the intersection to a diverging diamond interchange may be feasible – but only if combined with property acquisition on the west side of Windsor Road north of James Ruse Drive, as well as the closure of Northmead Avenue at Windsor Road.
Council said it’s likely to be the most cost-effective way to increase the capacity of the intersection.
The same interchange has been proposed for Bald Hills in Queensland.
Successfully supported by the Chamber, Parramatta Council will now write to the NSW Government to call for a review on the James Ruse Drive intersection and for consideration of a diverging diamond interchange treatment to address congestion.
The push to ease congestion comes after The Mills North Parramatta, which sits between Windsor Road, North Rocks Road and James Ruse Drive and houses supermarket Woolworths, opened at the end of last year.
Locals should also expect further road disturbances to be on the way, with work set to begin on the new $11.5 million single-span concrete bridge at Hunts Creek on North Rocks Road in August.
The upgrade is expected to be completed over 12 months, with altered traffic arrangements in place for the duration of the program.
Originally, it was expected the major works would require North Rocks Road between Windsor Road/Church Street and the Woolworths carpark driveway to become one-way for five months.
However, following recent discussions with Transport for NSW, City of Parramatta believes with a series of scheduled nightworks and a program of weekend road closures, the partial northbound closure of North Rocks Road can be reduced to one month.
Ellie Busby is a news reporter for Western Sydney Publishing Group. A graduate of the University of Hertfordshire and Western Sydney University, she is a journalism Major. Ellie has worked with Universal Media, The Cova Project and for a range of other organisations. In 2024, Ellie was named Young Writer of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.