No solution in sight for the traffic woes at Rutherford.
Motorists will have to grin and bear Rutherford’s gridlock for the foreseeable future, a council report has revealed.
The state government has told Maitland City Council it will not consider an inner city bypass until the impact of the Hunter Expressway can be determined.
Council general manager David Evans, in an update on the New England Highway traffic woes, told councillors their requests were moving slowly.
“The Roads and Maritime Services will be reluctant to undertake a study until the impacts of the expressway are better understood,” he said.
Mr Evans said correspondence with Robyn Parker MP and Roads Minister Duncan Gay were not supportive of an inner city bypass.
“Their response advised that the Hunter Expressway, which is currently under construction, will adequately serve as an outer bypass of Maitland,” he said.
A second council resolution on a similar traffic issue, calling for a four lane road between Rutherford and Lochinvar, also awaits consideration by the state and federal governments.
Cr Henry Meskauskas, who moved the first and second motions calling for action, will ask councillors to endorse a third application on Tuesday night.