New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive additional left turn lane
Project overview
Transport for NSW is planning for an additional left turn lane on the southern approach to the roundabout at New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive at Oak Flats to relieve congestion.
The NSW Government has committed $4 million as part of a program of improvements to reduce queuing extending from the roundabout back onto the Oak Flats Interchange, while a more permanent solution is developed.
Timing of construction is yet to be confirmed.
Latest News
April 2025 – Project update
Initial utility investigations have shown additional work needs to be carried out as part of the planning for an additional left turn lane on the southern approach to the roundabout at New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive at Oak Flats.
We will carry out additional investigations while work to prepare a submissions report following consultation in September 2024 is being finalised.
Once investigations are completed, the submissions report will be released. This is expected to be in late 2025.
As part of the utility investigations, we will be drilling the pavement around the intersection of New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive at Oak Flats on Wednesday 16 April and Thursday 17 April, between 7pm and 5am, weather permitting. This will help us understand where utilities are located underground.
Timing of construction is yet to be confirmed.
August 2024 - Have your say on the Review of Environmental Factors
The Review of Environmental Factors (REF) has been prepared and is on public display for feedback until 5pm on Friday 6 September.
View the REF main report and Appendices A and B (PDF, 11.47 MB).
October 2023 - Roundabout change to reduce congestion in Oak Flats
Transport is planning for a new left turn lane on the roundabout at New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive to help reduce congestion around the Oak Flats interchange.
Background
The Oak Flats interchange was upgraded and opened to traffic in late 2021. On opening, long queues of traffic were experienced that extended from the roundabout at New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive, south to the Oak Flats Interchange and back on to the Princes Highway in the morning travel peak.
Traffic modelling was carried out in late 2022 in response to community concerns and it was identified an additional left turn lane on the southern approach to the roundabout is needed to reduce congestion from the Oak Flats Interchange by reducing the number of northbound vehicles queuing on to New Lake Entrance Road.
Timing of construction is yet to be confirmed.
Benefits
- Improve efficiency
- Reduce delays and queue lengths through the intersection from the Oak Flats interchange.
Features
- Additional left hand turning lane would provide extra queuing capacity for traffic turning left into Pioneer Drive from New Lake Entrance Road.
- Dedicated cycle lane would connect the interchange with Pioneer Drive.
- A rock-filled retaining wall along the northern side of New Lake Entrance Road.
Map of proposed location
Review of Environmental Factors
As part of our planning process, a Review of Environmental Factors (REF) was prepared and was on public display for feedback until Friday 6 September 2024.
An REF assesses the potential environmental, social and economic impacts of the proposal and recommends measures to reduce these impacts.
These include:
- vegetation removal and changes to the surrounding landscape
- impacts during construction such as noise and traffic changes
- impacts to pedestrian and shared paths and cycle lanes.
View the REF main report and appendices A and B. (PDF, 11.47 MB) The other appendices are in the Reports section on this page.
Feedback closes 5pm Friday 6 September 2024.
What happens next?
Transport will collate and consider the submissions received during the public display of the REF and prepare a submissions report.
We will keep the community updated as the project progresses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the additional left turn lane impact cyclists?
Cyclists may temporarily be impacted during construction. We will notify the community in advance.
Upon completion of this work, the surrounding active transport network would be maintained.
Will Transport remove the traffic lights on the Oak Flats interchange?
We are investigating short and long-term solutions to reduce congestion at Oak Flats and on the surrounding network. There are currently no plans to remove the existing traffic signals.
What is Transport's plans for the northbound off ramp from the M1 Princes Motorway?
The northbound off-ramp from the Princes Motorway experiences queuing during peak periods as a result of the congestion occurring at both the New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive intersection and the Princes Motorway interchange.
The new left slip lane at the New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive intersection would reduce congestion at the Oak Flats interchange and further reduce queue lengths on the northbound off-ramp from the Princes Motorway.
Is any further worked planned for the Oak Flats interchange?
Transport is continuing to monitor the safety and efficiency of the Princes Motorway interchange at Oak Flats. We are aware of traffic congestion during peak periods and are investigating short and long-term solutions.
A new left turn lane at the New Lake Entrance Road and Pioneer Drive intersection would reduce congestion at the Oak Flats interchange by reducing the number of northbound vehicles queuing on New Lake Entrance Road.
Community notifications
Contact Us
For further information about this project, please contact:
Email: SouthProjects@transport.nsw.gov.au
Mail: Box 477, Wollongong NSW 2520