Pennant Hills Road - Traffic Congestion

Traffic Congestion

Pennant Hills Road has always been the main road north from Parramatta to Hornsby, but with traffic from major arterial roads of James Ruse Drive, Marsden Road, Carlingford Road, North Rocks Road, Castle Hill Road, Beecroft Road, The Comenarra Parkway and the Pacific Highway adding to that, plus the relatively recent additions of the M2 Motorway and the F3 Freeway extension to Wahroonga, the highway can get quite congested during the morning and afternoon peaks and is often characterised by the heavy population of trucks and other logistic vehicles. Unfortunately Pennant Hills Road is the only direct road linking the F3 and the M2, forcing interstate commercial traffic, travellers, and commuters to all compete for passage with local Hornsby Shire traffic. The average traffic flow on Pennant Hills Rd, according to a 2002 survey by the RTA, was 62,656, with the busiest area occurring around Thompsons Corner.

Plans to link the F3 Freeway with a planned North West Freeway were shelved in the late 20th century. Recently the Government has been examining a number of options to link the F3 with the M2 motorway as part of a freeway standard Sydney Bypass.

As of 2006, the proposal for a freeway tunnel under Pennant Hills Road is being re-examined. As the area between the F3 and the M2 is quite established, it would be difficult to construct a link without the use of a tunnel. However, as there are many homes and schools along the proposed route, the issue of tunnel exhaust stacks is of major concern.