The final steel beams for a flyover bridge that will form a crucial part of a toll-free motorway link to Sydney Airport have been installed, helping to clear the way for the $2.6 billion project to be completed by late next year.
The so-called Sydney Gateway motorway will extend from an interchange for the WestConnex toll road at St Peters to the airport’s domestic and international terminals at Mascot, and closer to Port Botany.
The flyover near the airport’s domestic terminal and Qantas’ aircraft hangars required the installation of 86 girders, and is one of 19 bridge structures on the five-kilometre motorway. It will separate vehicles travelling to Mascot and Port Botany from those driving to and from the airport.
The flyover’s roadway will be concreted and asphalted over the coming months, while Aboriginal art will be installed on its exterior. The first of two arch bridges across the Alexandra Canal near the international terminal will also be erected within the next few months.
The gateway was originally meant to be completed in 2023, but the previous Coalition government conceded several years ago that it would take about a year longer.
NSW Roads Minister John Graham said the project would provide motorists faster and more reliable journeys from the St Peters interchange to Sydney Airport, the M5 motorway and the Eastern Distributor by the end of next year.
“This project is a key part of cutting journey times from western Sydney with estimated time savings from Parramatta to Sydney Airport to be 20 minutes in peak hour after the gateway opens,” he said.
The flyover is under construction near Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal.Credit: NSW government
Completion of the Sydney Gateway project late next year will also help relieve congestion on local streets such as Gardeners Road in Mascot.
The opening in January of part of the final stage of WestConnex, which connects to the toll road’s junction at St Peters, has funnelled more vehicles onto local roads. Motorists are using roads in Mascot to make their way between the airport and WestConnex.
The motorway link to the airport was one of the original justifications for the 33-kilometre WestConnex toll road. The final part of WestConnex – a complex underground junction at Rozelle – is due to open to motorists late this year.
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