GRANVILLE residents are trapped in their homes as drivers flood back routes in an effort to avoid paying the new M4 road toll on the widened Parramatta to Homebush section.

And drivers are frustrated with 4km queues forming to get off at the Church St exit, the last chance to avoid paying the $4.56 toll.

Truckie Joe Azizi lives in Wentworthville and often drives across Sydney. On Tuesday, he left Villawood at 5.30am and said it took almost five hours to get to Bondi. He said the M4 and M5 were a disaster.

“No one is using the M4 between Parramatta and Homebush because you have to pay $4 each way. It’s empty, what a joke. It’s hard enough to buy a house to live in. Why would you want to waste money on this new toll? All they are doing with four lanes here and two lanes there is funnelling the traffic from one place to another.”

media_camera The M4 widening under construction in 2016. Picture: Adam Yip

Gerard Pinto and his wife Flory said they could not get out of their house in Boomerang St, Granville, where they have lived for 40 years.

“We feel completely trapped,” Mr Pinto said. “It’s impossible to get out of our house, with traffic blocking the street from 7am to 9.30am and again every weekday from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. It is noisy, the air is bad, we can’t have our doors or windows open.”

Granville state Labor MP Julia Finn, who has campaigned against the tolls being reimposed by the State Government, said she had experienced the traffic snarl around the Church St exit.

“During the morning peak, eastbound queues now stretch up to 4km,” Ms Finn said. “I was on the M4 at 3.30pm yesterday and the cars were already backed up for more than one kilometre waiting to get off at the Church St exit. Locals now face two options: pay an unfair toll on a road they’ve already paid for, or wait in a congested traffic jam each morning and afternoon.”

media_camera Traffic on the widened M4 is down 25 per cent since the $4.56 toll was introduced.

The congestion is so bad and angering so many drivers and residents that Liberal candidates for the upcoming Parramatta Council election are speaking out.

“As a resident first, I share the frustrations,” said Steven Issa who is running on the Liberal ticket in Parramatta. “The problem wouldn’t have existed if the Labor Party didn’t sell off the corridor and neglect infrastructure spend.

“The current situation, while it may be short-term pain for long-term gain, is unacceptable. I have raised the issue and concerns at the highest level through local MPs and ministers. If elected, I look forward to working with the State Government to best address the problems.”

WestConnex M4-M5 link

WestConnext M4-M5 Link WestConnext M4-M5 Link

Joe Rahme is a fellow Liberal also standing for Parramatta Council. He lives in Granville and works in Silverwater.

“It is too early to see what the ongoing impact will be on the traffic flow around the Granville area,” he said. “You can be sure that I will monitor the situation … and will be having conversations with the State Government to ensure residents are not adversely affected.”

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the new section of the M4 was performing as expected and was saving time for motorists.