THE WestConnex motorway will provide new route options while reducing the amount of traffic encountered daily by St George and Sutherland Shire motorists.
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A key part of the $11.5-billion, 33-kilometre project is a six-kilometre tunnel from Bexley North to St Peters, which will draw traffic away from the existing, traffic-clogged M5 East motorway tunnel.
The present tunnel will not be widened or duplicated, but is expected to feed less traffic into Princes Highway and General Holmes Drive.
Detailed plans for Australia’s biggest infrastructure project were released last week by Premier Barry O’Farrell and Roads Minister Duncan Gay.
The project will be built in three stages.
Stage one will include widening the M4 motorway to four lanes in each direction from Church Street, Parramatta, to Homebush Bay Drive, Homebush, and extending the M4 with twin, three-lane tunnels under the Parramatta Road corridor to Parramatta Road and City West Link, Haberfield.
This work is expected to cost up to $3.6 billion and be built in 2015-19.
Stage two will be an M5 East-Airport link from Beverly Hills to St Peters, costing up to $3.8billion, and due to be built in 2016-20.
This will include widening the M5 East to four lanes in each direction from King Georges Road, Beverly Hills, to Bexley Road, Bexley North.
From Bexley North, a six-kilometre tunnel will run to St Peters.
A new surface road, with three lanes each way, will connect St Peters to the airport. The third stage extends the M4 from Haberfield to St Peters.
THE MONEY TRAIL
Motorists will pay the bulk of the cost through distance based tolls.
It is expected the average toll on the first stage will be $3.
The state government is providing $1.8 billion and the new federal government $1.5billion over four years.
Are you looking forward to the WestConnex motorway?
