Residents living near Mount Ousley Road are bracing themselves for a start of work next week to remove hundreds of trees and masses of vegetation for the next stage of the $350 million upgrade of the interchange.
Yesterday, consultants representing the construction contractor Fulton Hogan met with concerned locals and representatives of the Keiraville Residents Action Group (KRAG) to provide an update on the works and hear their concerns.
A total of 5.5 hectares of vegetation will be removed on the southern side of the motorway, the equivalent of more than 12 football fields, to enable construction of a new bridge over the M1, a north-bound on-ramp, commuter carpark and a new access road into the university.
Last year, residents on the northern and eastern side of the road were horrified by the scale of destruction of a larger number of trees in the first phase of the project.
At the time, Greens Councillor Jess Whitaker said people had been "surprised" and many "traumatised" by how many trees were lost and the impact on their neighbourhood.
The new area to be impacted between now and the end of May runs from Binda Street and Falder Place to the north of the UOW Sports Hub and along the motorway at the university's sportsfield boundary.
Concern about the environmental impact
Brooke Kolodziej's townhouse in Falder Place backs onto the construction site and she is dreading what lies ahead.
"I am very concerned about the environmental impact," Brooke said. "I'm mostly concerned about the birds. I have quite the connection with the local native wildlife.
"There is so much wildlife and so many birds and animals, and obviously this is my own personal backyard. I bought a beautiful home three years ago in a leafy, shadowy gorgeous street. It was like it was from a story book. Then two months later they started chopping all the trees down."
'No option' but to sell
Brooke said the impact on her life has been huge and she feels she has no option but to leave the area.
"It's gross, yuk, it hurts. I bought this cute little home in a cute little road. Now my house is for sale."
Brooke joined other concerned locals for an on-site briefing from the contractors.
"No, it hasn't given me any hope because in the end they're just going to do it. There's really nothing we can do to stop all these trees from getting cut down."
In a joint statement from the Australian and NSW Government, locals were told: "Vegetation removal is unavoidable in this location as the interchange will be built on this land. We understand and acknowledge community concern surrounding the amount of native vegetation to be removed and will only remove vegetation where it is necessary to do so. We are working to retain vegetation wherever possible and since detailed design commenced, we have been able to reduce the amount of overall vegetation removal required."
Consultation will be ongoing
Speaking with locals yesterday, Jacob Cooper from Fulton Hogan gave assurances there would be ongoing consultation with locals.
KRAG Secretary Yvonne Toepfer said a contact was offered to the residents in case there were any unforeseen problems during the works.
"I see problems with the arrival of the estimated number of vehicles coming into UOW's limited roadways," Yvonne said. "The large cement wall barrier will be brought closer to the suburb."
Most of the vegetation removal will be carried out during daytime hours (7am to 6pm) from Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. Some work may be carried out at night and an assurance was given to locals they will be notified in advance of night work being carried out.
Revegetation won't begin until the interchange construction has been completed and will include vegetation unique to the lower Illawarra escarpment and coastal plain, including Blackbutt Forest and Moist Blue Gum Forest which will be planted extensively.
