Bumpy intersections along Canberra's Northbourne Avenue light rail corridor were not ripped up at the bequest of irate motorists, the ACT government says.
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For months, drivers have reported bottoming out their cars on track slab laid in the centre of intersections along the light rail route, including at Flemington Road/Well Station Drive, Macarthur/Wakefield Avenues and Barry Drive/Cooyong Street.
A truck driver left a one-star review on Capital Metro's Facebook page after "nearly breaking" his neck going through the intersection of Flemington Road and Well Station Drive.
"Sort your 'level' crossings out ffs. It's posted 60kph and I went through west bound at 35 in the truck and near broke my neck. Almost 300mm rise in 1/2 a meter," he wrote in December.
Another driver called the intersection at Macarthur Avenue and Northbourne Avenue "pretty dangerous".
"There’s a ramp flat section where obviously the rail will run and then a harsh ramp on the other side ... there’s lots of vehicles bottoming out as you clearly see," he wrote on social media in January.
"My partner actually saw someone go airborne in this last week they were taking it like a idiot anyway but obviously weren't aware of it and yep airborne and smashed right down I'm sure there would have been some damage," another wrote.
When workers began digging up and relaying the intersections, it fuelled speculation it was because of the impact on traffic.
However the territory government said the work had always been planned, and was not prompted by complaints.
"The intersections are not being ‘re-done’ as the questions imply," a Transport Canberra spokeswoman said.
"As part of the ordinary, planned program of light rail works, intersections along Northbourne Avenue undergo a number of phased activities, such as the relocation of underground services, building track slab and installing track.
"Each time works are completed, some degree of releveling and re-profiling of the road surface needs to be done to match the levels and geometry of the intersections.
"The levelling works will remove the cement ‘bump’, such as at Wakefield/Macarthur Avenue intersection, and integrate the road surface with the track slab."
The spokeswoman said the cost of this work was already incorporated into the construction contract.
The relevelling will continue over the next few months as track slab and rail track are installed along Northbourne Avenue, she said.
Work is intensifying towards the centre of Canberra as stage one of light rail gets closer to completion, with commuters facing delays and residents dealing with night works.
Cable hauling for traffic lights at Well Station Drive/Flemington Road originally scheduled for April 17 will now begin on April 29, with work to occur until 11 May between 8pm and 6am.
The intersection will be closed to traffic turning right into Flemington Road from Well Station Road and all through traffic along Well Station Drive during these hours.
Flemington Road will be closed for night works between the Federal Highway and Sandford Street between 8pm and 6am from April 29 until May 4.
The Federal Highway northbound will be reduced to one lane between the Barton Highway and Phillip Avenue intersections from April 26 to May 18, with motorists told to expect delays.
