Mount Ousley Interchange

LOCATION
Mount Ousley, NSW Australia
CLIENT
Fulton Hogan
DETAILS
Urban Design and Landscape Strategy

CM+ are the architects and urban designers for the Mount Ousley Interchange project. Located to the north of the centre of Wollongong in the foot slopes of the Illawarra Escarpment approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney, the interchange forms an important gateway to Wollongong and the broader South Coast Region.

The main elements of the Project include:

  • An overpass for safe access between Mount Ousley Road, the M1 Princes Motorway and the University of Wollongong.

  • A dedicated heavy vehicle bypass lane, to separate heavy vehicles from general southbound traffic on the M1 Princes Motorway and light vehicles exiting at Mount Ousley Road.

  • A dedicated southbound heavy vehicle exit ramp onto Mount Ousley Road, to separate heavy and light vehicles exiting the M1 Princes Motorway to Mount Ousley Road.

  • A new access to the University of Wollongong to and from the M1 Princes Motorway and Mount Ousley Road including a new roundabout at the intersection of University Access Road and Ring Road.

  • A new roundabout at the intersection of University Access Road and Mount Ousley Road, and a controlled intersection for those exiting the M1 Princes Motorway at Mount Ousley Road.

  • A new southbound service road, which would replace the existing southbound access from the M1 Princes Motorway to University Avenue.

  • Two new heavy vehicle safety ramps.

  • A new pedestrian and cyclist bridge over Mount Ousley Road and the M1 Princes Motorway, and a new shared path connecting suburbs to the north with the University of Wollongong and the TAFE NSW Wollongong campus.

  • A new commuter car park, relocated to the southern side of the M1 Princes Motorway, with additional formalised parking spaces.

  • New noise walls along the M1 Princes Motorway, between the motorway and nearby residential areas:

    – on the northern side of the M1 Princes Motorway, extending the existing noise wall along Dumfries Avenue as far as Foothills Road.

    – on the southern side of the M1 Princes Motorway, extending the existing noise wall along the edge of the motorway as far as the proposed western roundabout.

  • New noise walls along Mount Ousley Road, between the M1 Princes Motorway interchange and Gowan Brae Avenue.

The design demonstrates a unified, integrated and an inspired urban design. It has also adopted a solution that enhances the legibility of the interchange whilst capitalising on its setting to create placemaking opportunities that are integrated as part of the infrastructure and create a gateway experience as outlined in the vision. The interchange itself is perceived to be a large piece of environmental art that is juxtaposed within its urban bushland setting.