Sydney’s new tunnel link opening

Sydney’s new tunnel link is now opening to traffic.
By MJ Woof July 10, 2020 Read time: 1 min
New tunnel links are helping cut congestion in Sydney - image © courtesy Sjankauskas, Dreamstime.com

The opening of the new tunnels that form a stretch of Sydney’s M8 motorway is reducing journey times for drivers in the city. A massive rise in vehicle use in Sydney over the years has seen existing routes suffering heavy congestion, resulting in a need for additional road connections. The 9km twin tube tunnels connect the south side of the city of Sydney, with the western suburb of Liverpool.

With the twin tunnel tubes being opened, this helps cut journey times by as much as 30 minutes. The tunnels cost S$6.95 to use and run parallel with the existing M5 East route, which links Sydney’s central business district with the international airport as well as Port Botany and the south-western suburbs. The new tunnels connect Kingsgrove with the newly constructed interchange at St Peters.

The new tunnels form the second phase of the massive WestConnex project, which is costing some A$16.8 billion in all. The first stage of the WestConnex project included the opening of the M4 tunnels and a widened stretch of motorway. Future stages of the project will see the M8 linked with the M4 by further tunnel sections as well as to other new routes still being planned.

Road Structures

Related Content

  • Sydney, Australia seeing road development projects continue
    April 18, 2017
    Massive spending in a major road project will boost transport in Australia’s busy city of Sydney, helping cut chronic congestion. Building and improving the road links to connect with the new WestConnex motorway project is expected to cost in the order of US$ 21.97 billion in all. The construction of the WestConnex motorway is itself expected to cost some $12.7 billion. Meanwhile building the exit section at St Peters will itself cost in the order of $757 million.
    Read More
  • Key projects free up Auckland's congested motorway network
    June 14, 2012
    A number of key projects in Auckland, New Zealand will free-up the city’s congested motorway network - Mary Searle reports.Auckland is a sprawling city, home to 1.4 million people, one third of New Zealand’s total population. Until recently, greater Auckland comprised Auckland city, North Shore city over the harbour bridge to the north, Waitakere city to the west and Manukau city to the south. An amalgamation of these various cities’ councils, plus the regional council and three district councils into one,
    Read More
  • Egypt’s road programme is now restarting
    February 20, 2014
    Egypt is developing its road network – local reporting and images by Egypt correspondent Mohammed Elsayed Tantawy. Egypt is now gearing up its road construction activity, with a view to reducing congestion and improving traffic flow. The country’s main highway connecting capital Cairo with the port city of Alexandria has already seen a major widening programme, but other important routes are also now being upgraded and improved. The road development programme started in earnest some years ago but was delaye
    Read More
  • A new tolled highway brings change for Austin, Texas
    February 10, 2020
    A new highway section in Austin, Texas marks a major departure for the southern US city
    Read More

Highlighted Content