M4-M5 WestConnex link tunnels to boost Western Sydney economy

It is Western Sydney’s game-changing underground equivalent of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and excavation on the M4-M5 WestConnex link tunnels has finally finished.

It is Western Sydney’s game-changing underground equivalent of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and excavation on the M4-M5 WestConnex link tunnels has finally finished.

“The 33km WestConnex network has the potential to transform and unite Western Sydney much like the Sydney Harbour Bridge did for both sides of the harbour 90 years ago,” Transurban WestConnex Group Executive Andrew Head said.

The missing link is due to open in 2023 and will join together the M8 and M4 mega-tunnels creating an inner western orbital from Haberfield to St Peter’s – taking traffic off busy roads in Leichhardt, Sydenham and Newtown.

Letitia Tawera and Jon Workman in the southbound tunnel of the WestConnex M4-M5 at St Peters. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Travel times are expected to be slashed with a trip from Parramatta to Sydney Airport bypassing 52 sets of traffic lights and cutting the journey time by 40 minutes.

Workers on the “underground Harbour Bridge” have now topped 10,000 with almost half of those coming from Western Sydney.

Load operator Letitia Tawera from Marsden Park has been working on WestConnex for the last two years.

“Just this week I have been installing panels on the new M4-M5 Link Tunnels which drivers will see as they pass through,” she said.

“Throughout the pandemic, it’s been great to have had this construction project to rely on for work on this massive tunnel, which we’ll all be telling our families about for generations to come.”

The new NorthConnex. Picture: Transurban

Safety officer Jon Workman from Marayong agreed the work had provided security through the pandemic.

“Being involved in WestConnex has delivered stability during the pandemic which has been a weight off my family’s shoulders,” he said.

Future Western Sydney.

Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said the tunnel system was already improving connections across the city.

“Next year we’ll be cutting the ribbon on the last stage that brings the entire project to life, a 33-kilometre stretch of mostly underground motorways.

“What this means for the people of Sydney is less time spent in traffic and more time with loved ones, and the ability to move around the city more easily for work, which has a positive economic and productivity impact,” he said.