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Hunter New England Health has confirmed that a full interchange from the Newcastle Inner City Bypass to John Hunter Hospital would provide better access than the half interchange proposed in revised plans released last month.
The half interchange provides direct access to and from the hospital from the north only, connecting to the campus from a new access point to the west. Vehicles entering and exiting from the south will continue to use Lookout Road.
The half interchange was described in the report released with the refined bypass design as a “value for money” option with “substantial benefits for traffic flow”.
However, Member for Wallsend Sonia Hornery has described it as a “half-hearted interchange” and Hunter New England Health (HNEH) has indicated a preference for a full interchange.
“We believe that a full interchange will increase access points to the campus, decrease access time for emergency vehicles and reduce congestion on Lookout Road,” HNEH capital works manager Brett Evans said.
Regional transport manager Anna Zycki recently told the Newcastle Herald the half interchange was designed with capacity to be upgraded to a full interchange if required.
“Obviously the hospital would like a full interchange but by the same token they are still working on their master planning, so they don’t have plans yet for the roads within the hospital to connect to that,” she said.
The bypass design report indicates a full interchange was considered but traffic volume from the south (in the direction of Rankin Park) was considered insufficient to justify the option.
RMS modelling indicated about 2200 vehicles per day would use south-facing ramps at the new western hospital access, while 3800 would continue to use the Lookout Road entrance. By comparison, it was estimated that 7800 vehicles would use north-facing on/off ramps.
The existing entrance also provides a shorter route for those accessing the hospital from the south, although vehicles have to pass through two sets of traffic lights.
The traffic modelling suggests the half interchange will reduce traffic along Lookout Road north of McCaffrey Drive by 35 per cent.
Ambulance officers welcomed the provision of north-facing ramps but reserved judgment on the continued use of the existing entry for vehicles to the south.
“Lookout Road is terrible at the moment, but if the bypass reduces traffic to the extent that they say it will, that should ease a lot of the congestion,” regional Health Services Union spokesman Garrie Henry said.
