Twin M6 tunnels will slash commute times for south Sydney residents

The missing link of Sydney’s motorways may be only 4km of road, but the twin M6 tunnels will take 10,000 cars off congested roads and slash commute times. See the first pictures.

It may be only 4km of road, but the twin M6 tunnels will take 10,000 cars off congested General Holmes Dr and slash commute times — and now The Sunday Telegraph has the first pictures from inside the project.

The missing link of Sydney’s motorways will link the south from President Ave in Kogarah to the wider road network through the M8 at Arncliffe.

Set to open in 2025, five tunnelling roadheaders are excavating about 90m underground and making about 20m of progress a week.

At its deepest the tunnel will reach 100m underground, making it Australia’s deepest road tunnel.

Trips from Kogarah to the Anzac Bridge will be slashed by 15 minutes, and ease congestion on the choked-up Princes Highway and The Grand Parade, Brighton-Le-Sands.

Construction staff keep an eye on a roadheader tunnelling at Arncliffe as it churns its way through rock in a bid to save time for Sydney motorists.

“It’s all about getting ready for what the population is going to look like in 20, 30 years’ time … so when you are travelling from the south you can get on the M6 and either come off at the airport or keep going around the WestConnex network and get across to the city,” project director Teresa Avila said.

The twin-tunnel project is just one of seven key transport links due for completion in the next five years, and Sydneysiders are set to save travel time and see fewer trucks on suburban roads — at a cost. A trip on the M6 stage 1 tunnel will cost motorists $2.44 and truck drivers will pay $7.32.

 

“Our government has always been ambitious when it comes to delivering major road infrastructure,” Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward said.

“Because we know that the benefits of these projects for local communities are significant, taking cars and trucks off local roads and returning these streets back to the community.

“The M6 stage 1 project is no different, providing a new link to Sydney’s south that will allow motorists to bypass up to 23 sets of traffic lights on the Princes Highway between St Peters and Kogarah.

“This will help take more than 2000 trucks off local roads each day and reduce traffic on General Holmes Drive by 10,000 vehicles a day, which means less time spent in traffic for commuters.”

Project director for the M6 Stage 1 Tunnelling Project Teresa Avila at the entrance to the site in Arncliffe. Picture: Tim Hunter

The next tunnel commuters can expect to see open is the M4 to M8 link tunnel, which has just started on the crucial final steps of connecting the two motorways.

The link will connect the M4 at Haberfield and the M8 at St Peters to save as much as 40 minutes between Western Sydney and the airport, as well as potentially halve traffic on Parramatta Rd.

It is set to open early next year.

Late next year the Rozelle Interchange will open, marking the completion of the WestConnex project and linking major motorways connecting the city, south, west and the future Western Harbour Tunnel.

With three lanes in both directions, the 6.5km third harbour crossing is expected to open in 2027 or 2028.

The $2 billion M12 project will provide the east-west link from Cecil Hills to Luddenham and connect to the future Western Sydney Airport.

The Warringah Freeway upgrade and a new Sydney Gateway road link to the airport will also open in the next five years.

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