Coalition pledges to increase WestConnex speed limit

A new election pledge will put Western Sydney drivers in the fast lane, with the Premier vowing to shave valuable time off the weekly commute.

Hundreds of thousands of western Sydney drivers would be able to cut precious minutes off their daily commute under a plan from the Coalition to speed up WestConnex.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that a re-elected Perrottet government would move to increase the speed limit on the motorway from 80km per hour to 90km/h, saving motorists as much as 18 minutes every week.

It will also mean tens of thousands of heavy vehicle drivers, including tradies and truckies, will save time and money.

Under the plan to let motorists put their foot down, drivers could save almost two minutes every trip if they use the length of the motorway.

Labor on Monday backed the move to get commuters home faster.

WestConnex motorists could save up to 18 minutes a week if the speed limit is raised to 90km/h. Picture: Matthew Vasilescu

Labor leader Chris Minns agreed to raise the speed limit should he win government on Saturday.

“It does make sense and a good idea is a good idea,” Mr Minns told 2GB.

A motorist commuting from Penrith to the city each day could save up to 18 minutes every week if the speed limit is increased by 10km per hour.

The plan to raise the speed limit would be contingent on a final safety check from Transport for NSW.

Premier Dominic Perrottet at WestConnex has vowed to increase the new motorway’s speed limit. Picture: Jeremy Piper

The Telegraph understands WestConnex tunnels – including the newly-opened M4-M8 link – were built to 90km/h standards.

If re-elected, Premier Dominic Perrottet will also task Transport bureaucrats with reviewing all 80km/h speed zones in a bid to increase the limit to 90km/h where safe to do so. Recommendations from that review would be expected by the end of the year.

There were 271,000 trips on WestConnex every day in the December quarter, about 20,000 of which were made by heavy vehicles.

In all, 250 million trips are made on the motorway every year.

“Increasing the speed limit in WestConnex would mean drivers spend less time on the road and more time doing the things most important to them,” Mr Perrottet said.

The Coalition claims that increasing the speed limit will inject millions of dollars in productivity gains into the economy by helping people get to their destinations faster.

“The productivity savings from this are huge,” Mr Perrottet said.

“This will make a real difference to the everyday lives of people across our city, but particularly in the west, and is only possible under the Liberal and Nationals which have the long-term economic plan to keep NSW moving forward.”

Roads Minister Natalie Ward said a review into increasing speed limits would help people spend more time with their families.

“We will also look at changing speed limits on motorways so tradies, tourists, families and everyone trying to get from A to B has a more consistent journey,” Mrs Ward said.