First stage of WestConnex motorway set to open on Friday

The first underground section of Sydney’s WestConnex motorway could open on Friday.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: AAP

The first underground section of the NSW government’s planned WestConnex motorway, twin M4 tunnels to ease traffic congestion along Sydney’s Parramatta Road, could open as soon as Friday.

Senior government sources told The Australian they were hopeful the 5.5km tunnel in the city’s west would begin operating in 48 hours, subject to a final round of safety checks.

The $3.8 billion tunnels project is intended to speed up travel times with an underground bypass of three lanes in each direction removing traffic from Parramatta Road between Homebush and Haberfield.

The M4 East tunnels are the first opening stage of the much longer WestConnex motorway, still under construction, that will allow vehicles to travel from Penrith to Sydney’s inner west without traffic light stops.

The WestConnex route will also link to Sydney Airport and the M5 West motorway in the city’s southwest, the main road to Canberra and Melbourne.

An extension of the existing M5 tunnel will be the second stage to open next year.

Started in 2016, the new tunnels will allow motorists to avoid 22 sets of traffic lights along Parramatta Road between the existing exit of the western M4 motorway at Concord and Sydney’s inner west.

Modelling by NSW Roads and Maritime Services indicates a trip along the 5.5km stretch of new tunnels, part of 6.5km of newly opened roadway, will take six minutes in each direction based on a 80km/h speed limit.

Further modelling says motorists can expect to save 30 minutes for trips between the city and Parramatta at morning peak times when the WestConnex is finished in 2021. The volume of traffic along Parramatta Road is expected to halve, including 10,000 fewer trucks a day.

The M4 tunnels opening is the start of a “ribbon-cutting” phase for the Berejiklian government just months after winning re-election and weathering much criticism over delays to infrastructure projects including cross-city motorways and the Sydney light rail.

The completion of these and other projects is expected to form a big part of the NSW Coalition’s pitch to voters when it seeks a fourth term at the next state election due in March 2023.

Started in 2016, the WestConnex tunnels have been the subject of community protests from disillusioned Sydney inner-west residents. Complaints have focused mainly on inconvenience caused by road work and damage to homes allegedly caused during tunnelling. Locals have also protested about repeated WestConnex route changes, forced reclamation of properties, fears of increased toxic pollution from tunnel exhaust stacks and increased suburban congestion at motorway entry and exit points.