Traffic chaos: Cahill Expressway shut for Mad Max promo
Many Sydney drivers are furious after being treated with complete contempt by the State Government as it closed down the Cahill Expressway in the middle of a working day for a publicity stunt.
Tens of thousands of drivers were forced to sit and stew in grid lock as the key roadway was shut down for three hours to shoot a promotion for the Mad Max movie.
The contrast could not be more stark; while traffic was choking the bridge, Mad Max machines had a dream run.
Those who had already made it to work were entertained by the action on the closed Cahill Expressway, but stranded drivers not so much.
"To take nearly two hours to get into the city today [I'm] furious really," commuter Peter Fegan told 7News.
Social commentator Jason Morrison said the crews should have opted to film over the weekend.
"What kind of a nitwit closes down a major arterial road on a business day for a photo shoot?" Morrison said.
Roads minister Duncan Gay said the vision would be seen by millions and "it was such a crisp, magic Sydney day [that] the footage is going to look fantastic."
Road users took to social media to vent their anger: "My bus is stuck to film mad max this is bull****", one user posted.
"That movie better be good cause it stuffed me around today", another wrote.
But they can forget about a toll refund.
"If you're going to close one of the busiest roads in Sydney, then motorists should be told," Shadow Roads Minister Jodi McKay said.
Fury Road is the fourth film in the Mad Max franchise, after the original launched Mel Gibson's career.
It has been three and a half decades since that first Mad Max film hit our screens. This latest story has many of the same elements, but, a lot more.
"It's a much bigger, much broader vision and it's great that George has had a chance to come back to his roots," production designer Colin Gibson said.
