There is a planned traffic closure on the M5 East, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 25, changing the way drivers use the King Georges Road on and off-ramps at Beverly Hills.
From Wednesday motorists travelling westbound on the M5 East who need to access the King Georges Road exit will need to move into the far-left lane around 1.3km earlier than they currently do, near Kingsgrove.
Transport for NSW Chief Operations Officer, Howard Collins said if motorists missed the signs to the King Georges Road exit, they would have to continue onto the M5 South-West Motorway, which is a tolled motorway.
"To avoid missing the exit, we encourage motorists to look out for variable message signs (VMS) on the roadside and fixed green and white navigation signs around the King Georges Road off-ramp. The next available exit is Belmore Road which is almost 4km further west," Mr Collins said.
"We've also promoted safe driver behaviours through media to assist motorists with this change.
"If motorists find themselves in the wrong lane, they should not stop or reverse, and keep driving until they reach the next exit where they turn around or pull over safely and re-plan their trip."
For the safety of motorists there will be lane separation barriers in place at the existing King Georges Road exit to prevent left turn movements and late lane changes.
The staged traffic switch is required to progress construction for the $4.3 billion New M5 and will form part of the final traffic configuration at this location.
New M5 Project Director Terry Chapman said the construction for the twin 9km New M5 tunnels between Kingsgrove and St Peters was progressing well.
"Work is pushing ahead on this crucial motorway project which will cut up to half an hour from a journey between Liverpool and South Sydney on Sydney's south-west motorway network," Mr Chapman said.
"As part of the enabling works, motorists now have access to more than 1km of new lanes on the M5 between Bonds Road and King Georges Road, Beverly Hills - which have increased capacity of the motorway from two to three lanes at this location.
"Plenty of work is still taking place underground too with the mechanical and electrical fit-out well under way."
The full benefits of the motorway upgrades on the M5 corridor will be realised when the New M5 tunnels open. Then motorists will be able to travel from Beverly Hills to St Peters in around 10 minutes.
WestConnex is being delivered in stages, including the New M4 (now open), the New M5 opening in 2020 and the M4-M5 Link Tunnels, opening in 2023.
When complete, WestConnex will provide drivers with a 33km, traffic-light free motorway network.
