By Paul Nicolaou | Executive Director, Business Sydney
Business Sydney today called for the NSW Government to demand a full explanation from private toll road operator Transurban over the M4 tunnel incident that left some drivers stuck for up to four hours.
Executive Director Paul Nicolaou said it was a major concern that Transport for NSW Coordinator General Howard Collins pointed to a breakdown in communication during the incident.
Mr Collins had apologised for what appeared to be “a complete lack of communication. We will investigate and work with the timelines and go through this with Transurban to ensure that motorists [do] not go through this pain again.”
Yesterday’s extended incident followed the discovery of bulges in the roof of the tunnel. The long closure led to traffic gridlock on surrounding roads.
Mr Nicolaou said the Government needed to be confident that major incidents of this kind would be handled properly with maximum communication to the public.
“Generally speaking, Sydney has been well served by major infrastructure projects involving public-private partnerships,” Mr Nicolaou said.
“However, the Government must hold private operators to account for the day-to-operations of private toll roads in particular.
“The Government and Transurban must now conduct a full review of the handling of yesterday’s M4 tunnel incident.
“Lessons must be learnt so that future incidents are better handled with full and timely communication.”
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