The final stage of a new $2.6 billion motorway connecting Sydney Airport to the WestConnex toll network is set to open in two months, allowing motorists to bypass local streets and traffic lights.
Transport officials have earmarked the weekend of August 31-September 1 for the opening of the final part of the Sydney Gateway after shifting from earlier dates in August, according to three independent sources close to the project who are not authorised to speak publicly.
The final stretch of the Sydney Gateway motorway extends from a WestConnex interchange at St Peters, pictured.Credit: Edwina Pickles
The opening date is subject to final testing and integration works running smoothly.
The weekends of August 3-4 and 17-18 had previously been earmarked within the transport bureaucracy as possible dates for the opening.
Construction of the motorway link, which includes an overpass over Canal Road in St Peters, has been completed, leaving integration of systems and final testing to be finished before the motorway can be opened.
The final work involves integrating systems into WestConnex’s control centre at St Peters and the government’s transport management centre at Eveleigh.
A number of devices on the new motorway will control vehicle access to the WestConnex tunnels at the St Peters interchange in the event of a vehicle breakdown, crash or other major incident.
The opening of the final piece of the multibillion-dollar motorway will test officials’ management of greater traffic flows from the WestConnex junction at St Peters to the airport’s domestic and international terminals. The gateway will have capacity for more than 100,000 vehicles a day.
The opening date needs to avoid major events and school holidays because of concerns about high traffic volumes converging on the airport terminals from the newly opened link to WestConnex.
After the Rozelle interchange’s opening caused traffic chaos, officials want to avoid a repeat when motorists start driving on the crucial part of the gateway.
The final stretch of the $2.6 billion gateway motorway will link Sydney Airport to the WestConnex toll network.Credit: NSW government
Officials have been focused on aspects such as ensuring adequate signage, and sufficient time for a campaign to inform the public of the motorway changes.
The opening of the Sydney Gateway, which was one of the original justifications for the 33-kilometre WestConnex, has already been staged to limit traffic disruption.
An 800-metre-long flyover bridge for motorists driving to the domestic terminals, as well as the first of the twin arch bridges, opened in November. New Airport Drive, north of the main runway followed suit in February, and is three lanes in each direction.
Unlike with WestConnex, motorists will not have to pay tolls to use the Sydney Gateway motorway.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said the opening date would be announced after network integration was completed, adding that the agency had tested signage and new road markings with a group of drivers from across Sydney and was satisfied they were easy to follow.
“Transport is working with Sydney Airport on the opening and also kerbside management measures,” he said. “A joint operations centre will be in place to monitor and adjust the network in real time when Sydney Gateway opens.”
The gateway was originally meant to be completed in 2023, but the previous Coalition government conceded several years ago that it would take about 12 months longer.
A NSW Audit Office report in 2021 criticised the then Coalition government for excluding the multibillion-dollar bill for building the Sydney Gateway and other works from the WestConnex project, warning that it understated the full cost of the latter. The previous government repeatedly put the cost of WestConnex at $16.8 billion.
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