CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON WEST CONNEX

The Commonwealth and New South Wales Governments have marked the start of construction on Sydney’s new world class motorway, West Connex.

The Australian Government is investing a record $50 billion to build world class infrastructure for a stronger and more prosperous Australia.

The first sod was turned today on the $500 million M4 Widening, which is due for completion in two years.

West Connex will link the M4 and M5 with continuous free-flowing motorway, creating 10,000 jobs and injecting more than $20 billion into the NSW economy.

The project will increase capacity and slash travel times from Western Sydney and South Western Sydney to the CBD, Airport and Port Botany. It will also enable the urban renewal of Parramatta Road.

With an additional 1.6 million people expected to live in Sydney within 20 years, congestion will bring the city to a grinding halt without major infrastructure projects such as West Connex, North Connex and the NSW Government’s investment in public transport projects like the North West Rail Link and Sydney Rapid Transit – including a second harbour rail crossing.

Travel time savings when West Connex is complete include:

• 40 minutes cut from an average peak journey between Parramatta and Sydney Airport;
• 23 minutes off an average journey between Burwood and Sydney Airport;
• 29 minutes cut from the journey between Liverpool and South Sydney;
• 40 minutes off a trip between Port Botany and Silver water;
• And shave 23 minutes off the trip between Kogarah and the CBD.

The M4 Widening covers 7.5 kilometres of the M4 motorway. This section will be widened from three to four lanes in each direction between Church Street, Parramatta and Home bush Bay Drive, Home bush.

Additional ramp upgrades will include new direct access from southbound Homebush Bay Drive to the M4 westbound and a new connection from Hill Road to the M4 eastbound.

The widened M4 will meet the new M4 East which is due to begin construction next year.

West Connex is being delivered in stages at a cost of around $14.9 billion with the NSW Government providing $1.8 billion and the Australian Government providing $1.5 billion in addition to a concessional loan of up to $2 billion.

The remainder of the financing will be provided by the private sector, based on tolls.

West Connex is a vital infrastructure project that will cut traffic congestion and boost productivity in Australia’s largest city.