Removing a notorious Sydney bottleneck – 18 months early

The NSW and Australian governments today signed on the dotted line to start work 18 months early on fixing one of Sydney’s worst pinch points – King Georges Road Interchange – awarding the construction contract to Fulton Hogan Construction.

Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Duncan Gay and Federal Assistant Minister for Infrastructure Jamie Briggs said this vital work, which marks the start of Stage 2 WestConnex, would provide relief to motorists – continuing to deliver on the governments’ commitment to get families home together sooner.

“With the construction contract awarded, work can now start in a matter of weeks to upgrade one of Sydney’s most hated sections of road – King Georges Road Interchange, which will be completed in 2017,” Mr Gay said.

“Of the 100,000 motorists that sit on the M5 every day, more than 40,000 get stuck waiting at King Georges Road interchange – the upgrade will cut travel times at this intersection alone by up to 50 per cent.

“This upgrade links directly with the new widened M5 West and is the next important step to delivering the significant travel time savings motorists are experiencing on the western stretch along the remainder of the M5.”

“Thanks to the Australian Government’s concessional loan of up to $2 billion, this vital upgrade is being delivered for the benefit of motorists sooner,” Mr Briggs said.

“The upgrade will include widening and extending the eastbound on ramp and westbound off ramp between King Georges Road and the M5 East.

“The extension of the on ramp in particular will move more cars onto the M5 East faster, reducing traffic delays on King Georges Road.

“The upgrade will create more than 100 new jobs during construction and is the precursor to delivering the New M5 – which will provide new tunnels from Beverly Hills to St Peters and more than double the number of lanes on the M5 corridor.”

The NSW Government is providing $1.8 billion worth of funding to WestConnex and the Australian Government $1.5 billion, in addition to its concessional loan for the project.