At a previous Council meeting in March, Council endorsed a proposed Roundabout for the Main Street/Olympic Highway intersection. It is an area anyone who has travelled to or from Junee would have passed and safety complaints have been raised before, prompting the roundabout
proposal. Council also recommended that a letter is presented to Transport for New South Wales
(TfNSW) to request they support the proposed Roundabout Concept Design at the intersection and
assists in further development of the design to Final Detailed Design stage, due to the safety concerns at the intersection.
The concept design has been developed to support the improvement of the intersection, Council said this improves site distance and corrects safety concerns at the intersection, that have caused incidents in the past.
The concept design will be presented to Transport for New South Wales for consideration who are
the asset owner of the Olympic Highway.
The intersection at Main Street and Olympic Highway is non-conventional and has been flagged by
some as a major safety concern for the Junee Community, for an average of 1-2 accidents per year at that intersection.
The current intersection has two alternative routes that have faced criticism due to the lack of clarity on how to navigate the intersection.
Council said the following key safety concerns have been raised about the intersection:
• The intersection design is poor: Sight distance is not available for left turns onto Main Street and
left turns out of Main Street. Right turns out of Main Street cannot be achieved.
• The entrance and exit locations are not clear: Local users enter on the higher road and exit on the higher road; however, users who are unfamiliar with the turn use the lower road which does not have sufficient sight distance.
• The grade changes 1.5m across the intersection: A stepped retaining batter is located in the centre of the intersection which limits practical movements in both directions, narrows movements and creates risk points for drivers.
Alternatives for intersection treatment include:
• Closure of the intersection.
• Keep the current intersection format, with minor safety additions or limited vehicles.
• Upgrade the intersection (via the proposed roundabout concept design)
The design has been developed to support Higher Mass Limit, 26m b-double access without any kerb mounting and access for larger vehicles via a mountable roundabout excluding right turns onto the Olympic Highway from Main Street and U-turns. Vehicles over 15m will not be able to turn right of Main Street onto the Olympic Highway and also will not be able to U-turn on either the Olympic Highway or Main Street.
Council said this is a road safety matter which has been on the Council’s and Local Traffic Committee Agenda for a long time. The Traffic Committee is a technical advisory committee on these road safety matters; however, they said asset owners are the final decision makers.
Transport for New South Wales and Junee Shire Council by delegation have obligations under the Roads Act 1993 and the Road Transport Act 2013, to assess and implement road safety improvements and regulate the use of safety management devices on the road network. Given the major road is the Olympic Highway and the minor road is Main Street, both parties will need to
approve the final design.
The proposed roundabout concept design, if implemented, will reduce the enterprise risk for Council because they say it is a much safer design than the current design. Given the rigorous design process implemented by TfNSW, they said the design is unlikely to be approved with any
outstanding safety in design issues.
The safety in design process is a risk assessment designed to identify any safety risk due to the proposed work and direct the elimination and management of these safety risks. This process must be undertaken with key stakeholders present.
The proposed roundabout is estimated to cost in the order of $1.2 million to $1.5 million to construct. The intention is that the design can be progressed to detailed design with minimal cost implications for Council and funding can then be obtained. The current report does not commit Council to any additional funding for this project. Council’s staff time will be allocated to this process, however, that cost is already included in adopted salary and wage budgets. Council decided to endorse the Roundabout Concept Design for the improvement of the Main Street/Olympic Highway intersection. This improves site distance and corrects safety concerns at the intersection, that have caused incidents in the past.
-Jack Murray
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