A strangely shaped roundabout in Sydney’s southwest has triggered confusion, near-collisions, and widespread ridicule – and even the local council admits it doesn’t know how it got approved.

The “diamond roundabout,” located in Austral in the Liverpool City Council area, has become a viral sensation after drone footage revealed drivers struggling to navigate the unconventional design. Many motorists are seen making multi-point turns or, out of frustration, simply driving over the central structure.

Despite plenty of space for a conventional circular layout, the diamond shape was approved and built — prompting Liverpool City Councillor Peter Ristevski to demand answers.

“My inbox last night was bombarded with over 300 responses asking, ‘what is going on? You guys can’t even build a roundabout,’” Ristevski told Today. “They’ve pretty much lost confidence in the council, which is very concerning.”

Via Today Show

The councillor, currently attending the Australian Local Government Conference in Canberra, said the issue has become a national embarrassment. “I’ve had every single councillor here in Australia rip into me about this roundabout,” he added.

Ristevski could not confirm how much ratepayers had spent on the roundabout’s installation, but suggested the mishap stemmed from outsourcing to third-party contractors. “It’s a pretty good reflection of where things are at with council,” he admitted.

Channel Nine host Karl Stefanovic didn’t hold back in his criticism, saying ratepayers would now be forced to fund the fix for what he called an “absolute joke”.

The intersection before the roundabout (Google Maps)

With public backlash mounting and videos of the intersection circulating widely online, Liverpool Council has been left red-faced – and scrambling to explain how one of Sydney’s most bizarre traffic designs made it off the drawing board. An internal investigation is now underway.