New, twin nine kilometre tunnels between Kingsgrove and St Peters are expected to open in early 2020.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian provided the update on Tuesday while inspecting work on the St Peters interchange.
Ms Berejiklian said construction of the WestConnex New M5 was “racing ahead” with tunnel excavation more than 75 per cent complete and new bridge girders being craned into place above ground at the interchange.
“The M5 East tunnels are one of Labor’s big failures,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“They were built far too small and remain one of Sydney’s biggest traffic headaches.
“In just over a year, this Government will open brand new twin nine kilometre tunnels between Kingsgrove and St Peters, finally doubling capacity of the M5 corridor with four new lanes in each direction, cutting travel times by up to 30 minutes.”
Ms Berejiklian said the project had been made possible by the Coalition’s “strong economic management”.
Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities Paul Fletcher said the federal and state governments were working together to deliver WestConnex.
“Thousands of skilled workers from a wide range of industries are contributing their expertise and services to deliver this critical infrastructure,” he said.
“Bridge segments precast in the Hunter are being transported to the St Peters site.
“WestConnex is delivering a skills legacy, with more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs created over the life of the project.”
