A civil engineering student and aspiring urban planning expert has named what he considers Australia’s worst highway.
Sharath Mahendran has bestowed the unwanted distinction on the famous Mount Ousley Road in Wollongong, south of Sydney, on his popular YouTube channel. Building beautifully.
Mr Mahendran, 22, cited the road’s sharp bends, dangerous at-grade intersections and “the most confusing interchange in the country”.
He even went so far as to call the Mount Ousley Road a “fake highway”.
“Yes, the M1 is signposted; the ‘M’ is only given to motorways in New South Wales,” he told his 43,000 subscribers.
“But let’s not kid ourselves. Mount Ousley Road is just a normal road masquerading as a motorway.”
The road’s origins date back to 1942, when it was built as a defence route during World War II, designed to provide easy access from Sydney to the Illawarra region if the Japanese invaded.
The student explained how the works were expanded over the years, including those in 1964 and 1975 to link the road with the F6 at its southern and northern ends.
A civil engineering student and budding urban planning expert has named what he considers to be Australia’s worst road (pictured)
Mr Mahendran described the Bulli Tops interchange at the northern end as the most confusing interchange he has ever seen.
“There are a total of five paths that interact with this exchange,” he continued.
“But besides that, there is also a restaurant, a viewing platform and a tourist centre, because that should definitely be on a highway!”
The 16-minute video, presented in a humorous style that has earned it tens of thousands of followers, goes on to explain the many confusing aspects of Mount Ousley Road.
These include what he calls the “random” junction of the old Princes Highway with a southbound carriageway and the right-hand side placement of the Princes Highway exit onto Appin Road.
Then there’s the way the carriageway splits heading north, so drivers who want to stay on the M1 technically need to take an exit.
Mr Mahendran (pictured) said: “Mount Ousley Road is just a normal road pretending to be a motorway.”
Mr Mahendran found some positive things to say about the road.
“To be clear, the (Bulli Tops) junction is not that confusing to drive through. It is fairly well signposted,” he said.
‘But from the perspective of a planner and an engineer, it makes almost no sense for it to exist in this form.
“The fact that the roads split so much and that Appin Road seems to randomly take priority for much of the interchange seems to indicate what was once planned here.”
The video has attracted nearly 50,000 viewers and hundreds of comments.
“I can’t believe Mt Ousley Rd has been lying to us all this time. I trusted him when he said it was a motorway. Pure betrayal,” one viewer wrote.
Sharath Mahendran said the Bulli Tops interchange (pictured) at the northern end was “the most confusing interchange” he had ever seen.
Another said they “lived near the lower interchange. I still remember Dad driving us home, turning right and crossing the southbound lanes.”
Others pointed out even more flaws in the “false highway.”
‘Mt Ousley Road also removes pedestrian access (i.e. hikers and also mountain bikers) along the cliff top (some parts are really beautiful up there, away from the roads) on Clive Bissel Drive,’ commented one viewer.
Another said he had “driven this road several times to/from Wollongong and could never figure it out”.
