- Read the secret Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link files
Gladys Berejiklian will head to the March election promising to start construction of two motorways in northern Sydney within two years, according to "cabinet-sensitive" plans for the two roads obtained by the Herald.
Project updates for the so-called Western Harbour Tunnel between Rozelle and North Sydney, and Beaches Link motorway between Cammeray and Seaforth and Balgowlah, say construction on both roads will start in 2020-21, with the roads opening in 2025-26.
The updates, dated May 2018, also detail the expected construction impact of the motorways.
The entire Balgowlah Golf Course would be used during construction. Part of the site would later be turned into sporting fields, however a new link road would also run through what is now a nine-hole golf course. Similarly, about half of Cammeray’s golf course will be used for construction.
In the inner west, the updates confirm the use for tunnelling work of the Balmain Tigers Leagues Club building on Victoria Road, and the use of large parts of Glebe Island and White Bay.
At Glebe Island and White Bay, the concrete and steel tubes that will form the sub-harbour road tunnel will be assembled, before being floated into position and lowered to the sea bed.
The project will also require a temporary construction site at Berrys Bay, Waverton, as well as smaller sites in Artarmon.
Cammeray Golf Course will be used during construction. Credit: Google Maps
The Herald asked a spokesman for Roads Minister Melinda Pavey if there had been any change to the projects since May. A spokesman for Roads and Maritime Services said the government had made a commitment "to return to the community with further information" on the road projects "in the middle of this year".
"There was no public update issued by the government in May and we are unable to make any further comment," the spokesman said.
The May updates do not disclose the cost of the motorway projects. The Herald has previously reported the two roads carry an estimated $14 billion price tag.
The state budget earmarked $560 million to be spent on the road projects over the next four years.
Labor leader Luke Foley is opposed to the two projects.
The update for the six-kilometre Western Harbour Tunnel says the road will create a bypass of Sydney’s central business district, and take pressure off the Harbour Bridge, Anzac Bridge and Western Distributor.
The Herald has previously reported that public transport alternatives to the motorway projects were not considered at an early stage.
However the update says the tunnel "creates the potential to introduce direct express bus access between the inner west and lower north shore". For instance, it canvasses direct bus routes from North Sydney and to the University of Sydney and RPA, bypassing the CBD.
The Beaches Link project will provide a new route from the Northern Beaches to the CBD and the western suburbs, bypassing the Spit and Neutral Bay. The documents predict a 40 per cent drop in traffic on the Spit Bridge.
But the documents also show the government may have had to reduce its estimates of the time motorists would save when using these roads.