Closure of Hornsby checking station will add an extra hour to travelling time for truck drivers redirected to alternative sites
September 6, 2013
A heavy vehicle station on the Pacific Highway in New South Wales will close next month and not reopen until 2014 due to a $400,000 upgrade to the site.
Truck drivers will no longer be able to use the checking station on the corner of the highway at Bridge Street at Hornsby from October 8 until January next year.
The Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) says inspections will be carried out at alternative stations in the meantime.
Drivers will be redirected to either Silverwater, Botany, Penrith, Wetherill Park and West Gosford stations, which the RMS says will add about one hour in travelling time.
The RMS is offering four extra inspection appointments per day at Hornsby until the closure and has encouraged drivers to book early to avoid inconvenience.
Government MP Matt Kean says the Hornsby inspection station is more than 20 years old and has serviced tens of thousands of heavy vehicles in its time.
“Improvement work is needed to ensure worker and customer safety for ongoing quality service into the future,” he says.
The upgrade will include lengthening the station structure and installing roller doors at either end. Access to the site will also be levelled to improve the entry and exit.
Kean says the upgrade will offer more shelter for inspectors in wet and windy conditions and a larger structure for long trucks.
“The work has been scheduled around the end of year holidays which traditionally have the lowest number of bookings,” he says.
“Roads and Maritime will keep customers informed before the station reopens in January, weather permitting.”
