Skip to main content

Another tunnel for Australia’s WestConnex toll road project?

The size of Australia’s largest infrastructure project could get bigger with the addition of another tunnel, according to media reports. The New South Wales state government is considering another tunnel, around 1km long, in the inner west, expanding the size of Sydney's WestConnex toll road project, according to the Sydney Motorway Corporation, which along with its state government client, Roads and Maritime Services, is in charge or the US$12.74 billion project. Sydney Motorway was set up in 2014 an
July 21, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The size of Australia’s largest infrastructure project could get bigger with the addition of another tunnel, according to media reports.

The New South Wales state government is considering another tunnel, around 1km long, in the inner west, expanding the size of Sydney's WestConnex toll road project, according to the Sydney Motorway Corporation, which along with its state government client, Roads and Maritime Services, is in charge or the US$12.74 billion project.

Sydney Motorway was set up in 2014 and awarded the design-build-own-operate contract by the NSW Government. The latest tunnel would run from Iron Cove Bridge to an interchange at Rozelle, where it would link to the WestConnex motorway.

Roads minister Duncan Gay said that no decision has yet been taken on the final design of the link between the M4 and M5 motorways, "but we are always looking for the best options to fix traffic congestion in Sydney".

It is also unclear if the cost of the new tunnel will come from the WestConnex budget, the Herald reported.

About 200 properties are being acquired for the first stage of WestConnex, and 159 for the second.

Sydney Motorway announced in January that it had award 2376 Egis Projects and 6191 Fulton Hogan Construction a contract for the operation and maintenance of WestConnex.
 
SMC – whose shareholders are Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight and the Treasurer of NSW – is carrying out work in three stages. The first is for the widening the existing M4 Motorway as well as constructing a 5.5km tunnel extension. The second stage (WestConnex M5) includes building a new 9km road tunnel, which will more than double capacity of the existing M5 East motorway corridor and provide a new interchange, north of the city’s airport. The third stage (WestConnex M4-M5 Link) will link stages 1 and 2 through a new road tunnel, connecting the M4 and M5 corridors.

The contract term for stages 1 and 2 is 10 years. Operation and maintenance will start in 2019. In addition, the contract comprises the operation and maintenance of the existing M5 East Motorway, which had been previously operated and maintained by Egis (as part of the BHEgis joint venture) from 2001 to 2011. M5 East is a 10km motorway with 4.5km of tunnels.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Piling starts in Parkes for bypass project
    October 20, 2023
    Two new bridges are part of the US$120 million Parkes Bypass Project in the Australian state of New South Wales.
  • Ontario’s Highway 413 revisited
    June 27, 2025
    Final property acquisitions are taking place for construction of Highway 413 in the Canadian province of Ontario to start later this year.
  • BAM wins motorway deals in The Hague and Munich
    December 7, 2015
    The Dutch city of The Hague has awarded a BAM joint venture with a €300 million design, construction and maintenance contract for a 4km city road. The new connecting road will run between the motorway at the Ypenburg interchange, A4 and A13, and The Hague’s Central Zone of Binckhorst-Centrum-Scheveningen. Construction will start in mid-2016 and the road is expected to be open by early 2020. The Rotterdamsebaan will make The Hague and its immediate region better accessible by connecting the A4 /A13
  • Rotenberg’s Mostotrest to fight for $5 billion Russia’s road-building contract
    December 2, 2013
    Interest is strong in one of Russia’s premier projects for road infrastructure - Eugene Gerden reports The State Company Russian Highways (Avtodor) has officially announced a tender for the construction of the sixth - and longest - section of the Moscow - St Petersburg highway. Avtodor is Russia’s leading company in the field of development of national road infrastructure, while this is one of the largest and most controversial projects in Russian road building in recent years. The 6th section of the