By ANNA USHER

Motorists who use the Sydney Harbour Bridge to get home to Kirribilli, Neutral Bay and Mosman face a permanent new detour from July.

Transport for NSW will permanently close the right turn from the Pacific Highway off-ramp onto High Street. It is an exit locals have used for years as they peel off the bridge towards the harbourside suburbs.

The new way home runs via Arthur Street, Mount Street and Alfred Street North. The official notice says it will add about four extra minutes during peak periods.

News of the closure has flooded local social media, and residents are filthy.

“So now, instead of turning straight off the Harbour Bridge onto the High Street bridge as has been done for many many years, we go through multiple traffic lights to u-turn back towards High Street,” one resident wrote. “Thank you RMS, brilliant decision. Keep them coming!!!!”

Others fear the change will dump bridge traffic onto already-busy local streets.

“Now all of the Mosman, Balmoral, Taronga Zoo traffic coming from the south will be squished into a one lane left hand turn from Alfred St North and get stuck in the one lane turning right from Alfred St across Mount St,” another wrote. “What the fluff?”

“It’s getting worse with every change they make,” a third posted. “Soon we’ll be gridlocked or stuck in a one way loop.”

Transport for NSW says the right turn has to go because of new lanes and a new median on the widened High Street bridge, where the movement will no longer be possible.

Two extra northbound lanes are being added from High Street to Arthur Street. The agency says the change will improve traffic flow and safety at the High Street, Arthur Street and Pacific Highway intersection.

The closure is part of the High Street interchange upgrade, a slice of the wider Warringah Freeway Upgrade. Work started in November 2022.

The roundabout at High Street and Alfred Street North is also being replaced with traffic lights.

When it is finished, Transport for NSW says the upgrade will deliver a wider bridge, a new pedestrian and cycling path, and a new northbound on-ramp to the Warringah Freeway.

But the full benefit is years away. The agency says the complete lane layout will not be in place until the Western Harbour Tunnel opens, due in 2028.

More disruption is coming first. Transport for NSW says it will need to temporarily close access to Whaling Road at times to finish the job, and will warn residents before each closure.

The exact start date is not locked in. The notice says only that the right turn will close from July, with dates confirmed closer to the time.

Got a view on the change, or a traffic tip from your pocket of the lower north shore? Email [email protected]