The excellent Editorial by David Abrahams in CCN 435 summarises the current drama and history of the fight by the Woy Woy Peninsula community over 26 years, to have a two-way road tunnel built under the main northern railway line at the bottom of Bulls Hill.
The proposed road tunnel would replace the extremely dangerous railway level crossing at Rawson Rd which, over the years, has been the scene of far too many tragic deaths through fatal vehicle accidents and suicides.
The latest incident on Friday, April 19, of a car mistakenly turning onto the rail lines at the level crossing , could have been fatal.
The incident created long rail stoppages to north and south rail lines for so many Friday evening peak hour commuters and was another incredibly expensive, unplanned incident, involving rail replacement by buses (Hornsby – Gosford), with additional emergency workers, Ambulance, Police and fire personnel attending.
At what cost?
What a huge Friday evening peak hour upheaval for train travellers trying to get home.
This latest event would not have happened if the Rawson Rd Level crossing had been removed when planned, years ago.
This is a very busy rail crossing on the main northern rail line and vehicle traffic is stopped every few minutes for passenger trains and freight trains to pass, all day and night 24/7.
When a train activates the level crossing boom gates and stops all road traffic, it also stops ambulances and fire trucks, desperate to save someone’s life or a house on fire.
The level crossing is the only way for tall critical vehicles to get across the rail line in an emergency; there is no other way to cross the rail tracks.
Traffic can be stopped for many minutes when a 1.8km long, slow freight train enters the level crossing and that occurs many times each hour, night and day 24/7.
Is that good enough in 2024? The answer is obviously no.
In addition, Woy Woy Rd users deserve better than a rickety, old and dangerous one-way traffic bypass under the rail line adjacent the boat ramp on Woy Woy Rd.
You and I use this bypass and so do thousands of other drivers, particularly those getting to and from work each day.
It is dangerous and creates confusion on both sides, with resultant congestion and delays.
The Council provided the design and completed all of the site preparation (outside of the rail corridor) and the critical road tunnel/rail bridge project under the rail line was unfortunately shut down by poor decision making at the time.
Stage 1 was successfully completed before Stage 2 (the critical bit) was abruptly shut down.
To quote Gough Whitlam – it’s time.
It’s time for action to complete the most important section of the project, the road tunnel/rail bridge, to create a smooth, unrestricted, two-way traffic flow under the main northern rail line.
It’s time for our community to be vocal and demand that the Rawson Rd level crossing be removed and replaced with a road tunnel by the NSW Government, now.
Will you join us please to get this project restarted by contacting Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch at her Woy Woy office and demanding action.
Email, May 2
Neil Thompson, Woy Woy
Having lived in the region for ten years now,the Rawson Rd crossing situation is nothing short of a disgrace.The poor locals are being treated like fools by both local council and government.Everyone is aware of the ongoing danger it poses.The design of the crossing is grossly outdated and quite embarrassing, it’s not a good look for visitors that we want to entice to experience the many beauties of our region.As a community this should be regarded as a burning issue and in any way possible apply pressure for funding and construction a.s.a.p, particularly as we are seeing big jumps in population growth and recent plans from government for high density housing in WoyWoy.
I’ve heard people talk about the proposed tunnel since I moved to the area, about a decade ago. What I cannot picture is where this proposed tunnel’s entrance and exit would be. Is the intention to go under the railway near Bulls Hill? Would the proposed tunnel be capable of handling heavy vehicles? (I know Woy Woy Road has a weight limit, but emergency vehicles will need to be able to cross the railway, along with normal vehicles in the event that Spike Milligan Bridge and The Rip Bridge became unusable for some reason).
Having lived close to the level crossing for nearly 30 years l would love nothing more than to see it closed.The last issue with the car on the tracks and being hit by the train was very scary.Really, its 2024, it needs to be closed and the underpass built.Please make sure its high enough for trucks,caravans,Fire trucks etc.