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THE paramedics union has added its voice to concerns about the proposed half interchange connecting the John Hunter Hospital with the Newcastle inner-city bypass, saying the design will not relieve key congestion spots where ambulances are often held up in traffic.
Revised plans for the $280 million fifth and final stage of the bypass, released last month, included a half interchange that 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.
Hunter New England Health (HNEH) has confirmed its preferred option is for a full interchange to provide better access to the hospital, and is continuing to consult with the Roads and Maritime Service (RMS) on the design.
The Australian Paramedics Association said the bypass, while “obviously needed and long overdue” left significant issues unresolved “and is not anticipated to relieve a number of locations where traffic congestion frequently delays paramedics”.
Hunter-based association spokesman Tim McEwen said the half interchange only improved access for inbound ambulances approaching from the north.
“It prevents available ambulances responding from the hospital should an incident occur on the section of bypass between Lookout Road and the John Hunter or to the south, if the intersections on Lookout Road are blocked,” he said.
“A full interchange would alleviate both issues.”
Mr McEwen said the association was also concerned about the lack of direct access to the bypass from McCaffrey Drive. Entry and exit ramps at that location were omitted from the design because RMS modelling suggested less than 90 cars a day would use either ramp, despite McCaffrey Drive carrying 19,000 vehicles a day.
“The build-up of traffic at the Lookout Road / McCaffrey Drive intersection will not be significantly alleviated by this project, so will continue to unnecessarily delay ambulance responses into the future,” Mr McEwen said.
“This has frustrated paramedics since the hospital opened in 1991 and is only going to worsen over time.”
Mr McEwen said it was imperative that access to the John Hunter was optimised given the hospital’s standing as the major trauma service and children’s hospital for northern NSW
“The ‘missing link’ in the Newcastle inner-city bypass is our opportunity to do that,” he said.
“We have to get it right. What’s the point of a world-class hospital if you can’t access it?”
The half interchange has been designed with capacity to be upgraded to a full interchange in future.
NRMA president Kyle Loades said a full alternate access to the hospital should ideally be built from the outset if funds were available.
Rob Brook, a solicitor representing residents who have campaigned for access ramps at McCaffrey Drive, said the omission of both the ramps and the full hospital interchange were based on flawed traffic forecasts that significantly overestimated the number of drivers who would use Lookout Road instead of the bypass.
Mr Loades said NRMA had accepted at face value the RMS modelling use to justify the omission of the McCaffrey Drive ramps.
“Based on the modelling and the $25 million price tag for the ramps, it is hard to argue that they will provide value for money,” he said.
“There are many projects in the Hunter region that the $25 million dollars could be spent on that would provide a bigger bang for buck.
“For example, $25 million would eliminate the entirety of Newcastle council’s road maintenance funding backlog or provide the funding to complete stage one, section two of the Glendale Interchange.
“Having said that, NRMA looks forward to the completion of the bypass. The project will improve traffic between Rankin Park and Jesmond and benefit commuters in the region.”
