New roundabout pavement irritates truckies having to mount kerb to navigate in and out of Geraldton Port

Road train drivers say a new median strip constructed at the Marine Terrace roundabout last week has made navigating in and out of the port difficult and could create road safety issues and damage trucks. The purpose-made heavy vehicle rigid pavement on the south side of the newly-constructed roundabout is designed to improve traffic flow as trucks travel in and out of the Geraldton port. But truck drivers say the changes have left them no choice but to mount the inner island. The design, completed by the Mid West Ports Authority’s designer Talis Pty Ltd, is intended to reduce the speed of vehicles approaching the roundabout and keep pedestrians and cyclists segregated from vehicles. Truck drivers have raised their concerns about the changes, claiming it could cause damage to vehicle tyres and create a safety risk, but MWPA acting CEO Sandra Pigdon said the inner island was built to be mountable. Heather Jones, who drives a 36.5 long road train, said truck drivers thought the roundabout was accessible and improved traffic flow, but since the pavement was added last week they had started airing frustrations on the two-way. “If you bash up against kerbs, the sidewalls get damaged, then when you’re driving 110km/h on a road they will explode and hit a car coming past,” she said. Fellow truck driver David Guy said the roundabout had gone from a useable facility to something that was no longer user-friendly. “When they first put the roundabout in, everyone thought ‘what a good idea’ and it was, but this modification has made it good for cars and not so good for trucks,” he said. Ms Pigdon said the central median was not a kerb but instead a purpose-made heavy vehicle rigid pavement to ensure super quads were able to safely turn out of the port. “Extensive work and trials on the sweep paths were conducted to ensure the trucks exiting from the port were able to do so safely,” she said. “The central median is reinforced and is designed as heavy vehicle pavement with no exposed reinforcement. “The design has specifically included the deviation to reduce the speed of light vehicles traversing the roundabout. If light vehicles know they can navigate the roundabout quickly, then they will tend to approach and enter the roundabout at higher speeds.” Ms Pigdon said construction of kerbing on the southern side of Marine Terrace had started and had not been reinforced. “The kerbing will be backfilled with concrete, which prevents the kerbing from moving. This could be dangerous given the interface between light and heavy vehicles,” she said. “In an attempt to determine where trucks are experiencing apparent difficulty navigating the area, Mid West Ports will be installing monitored CCTV on location.” A CBH spokesperson confirmed CBH had been in contact with MWPA and was working with them to find a resolution.