Metro train works start at Westmead, Parramatta
Work on the multi-billion Metro West line is ramping up as the 24km network starts to take shape. Here’s what Westmead and Parramatta residents and businesses can expect.
NSW
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For years the southern side of Westmead station has been sleepy compared with the northern streets, where construction on the light rail and $1 billion hospital surged ahead.
But now the block bounded by Alexandra Ave, Hassall St, Bailey St and Hawkesbury Rd has become subject to upheaval as work on the Metro West begins following a 2019 announcement of compulsory acquisition for 116 properties along the 24km line.
Where modest bungalows and small businesses such as a barber and a GP practice once operated will be replaced by the Westmead Metro station, the first stop on the network linking greater Parramatta to the Sydney CBD via underground twin tunnels.
At Westmead’s Bailey St, houses on one side of the street are being cleared while the opposite side, dominated by units, remains untouched.
But residents will have to tolerate inevitable noise and traffic closures that come with building Australia’s largest public transport project.
House beams supporting soon-to-be demolished houses expose the development in Westmead’s health precinct, including the $350 million Innovation Quarter and the redeveloped hospital.
Once complete in 2030, Westmead platforms will be added next to the existing train station and provide an above-ground interchange with the T1 western and T5 Cumberland lines.
Initial works in December have seen the demolition of homes while equipment will begin to be delivered from next week.
Transport for NSW is also charging ahead with more construction outside of standard hours between 6pm on Thursday and 2am Monday January 17, and March 5-6.
Residents might want to invest in some ear plugs.
Works will involve the temporary removal of parking along Railway Pde, excavating and installing of steel toughing within the rail corridor, constructing a retaining wall and clearing vegetation.
That means noisy concrete trucks, excavators, rock hammers, traffic diversions and dump trucks will be the norm.
The eastbound lane west of Hawkesbury Rd will temporarily close, as will a section of the bus lane east of Hawkesbury Rd next to Westmead station.
Three parking spaces will be removed on Hassall St and parking will be temporarily restricted at Alexandra Ave where sections of the eastbound parking lane and part of the bus lane will be used for construction trucks.
Transport for NSW said it would roll out measures to minimise inconvenience during construction including installing noise barriers.
At Parramatta, the CBD’s relentless construction won’t abate for at least another decade. While light rail construction has wrapped up on the Church St dining strip, the Metro project picks up from the brief lull over the Christmas break.
Parramatta’s Metro station is to emerge where the City Centre carpark at George St, near Horwood Place, stands.
Demolition of part of the carpark will begin on Tuesday. Scaffolding surrounds the multi-deck carpark, behind the Roxy and near the Parramall and Greenway Mall, which saw the last remaining businesses shut in June.
The station’s entrance will be at Horwood Place and another entry is to be determined.
Five spaces in the Macquarie Lane carpark will be removed for up to four weeks from Monday and replacement lots will be available at the northern section of Horwood Place.
The Metro will double the rail capacity between the Parramatta and Sydney CBDs during a swift 20-minute journey.
The project is forecast to generate 10,000 direct and 70,000 indirect jobs during construction at Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock, The Bays, Pyrmont and Hunter St.
More stations are being planned.
Business Western Sydney executive director David Borger last month called for more Federal Government funding for the Metro ahead of the election.
“We need a dynamic voice in Canberra making the case for the Federal Government to invest in our city,’’ he said.
“We have big infrastructure projects like Sydney Metro West and Parramatta light rail stage 2 and the Riverside Theatres that has no federal funding at all – that needs to change with a fresh face.’’
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