King George Road Interchange Upgrade reaches half-way milestone
19 Sep 2016
Construction on the King Georges Road Interchange Upgrade, which will address one of Sydney's worst pinch points, has reached the halfway point with completion on track for February 2017. The $130 million upgrade, which is being delivered as part of WestConnex, includes widening and extending the eastbound on-ramp and westbound off-ramp between King Georges Road and the M5 East, increasing ramp lengths by 180 metres. Parliamentary Secretary for Roads, John Sidoti MP who inspected the project today with Mark Coure, Member for Oatley and Deputy Whip, said work completed to date was already showing how motorists will benefit from an upgrade of this notorious pinch point. “The Cooloongatta Road Bridge extension to accommodate the longer ramps between King Georges Road and the M5 East is continuing, with excavation beneath the extension now well underway. Retaining wall work is now three-quarters completed and the installation of 2km of noise wall panels is also underway,” Mr Sidoti said. “Around 80 per cent of all earthwork " or 58,000 cubic metres " has been carried out, and road pavement work has just started. “Almost half of the 100,000 motorists who use the M5 every day get stuck in traffic at the King Georges Road interchange so this work can't come soon enough.” Thanks to a Commonwealth Government concessional loan of up to $2 billion, construction of the WestConnex New M5 was fast tracked, allowing work to start on the King Georges Road Interchange Upgrade some 18 months early. “This means motorists will reap the benefits of this upgrade much earlier and will enjoy travel time savings through this frustrating and congested intersection,” Mr Coure said. The King Georges Road Interchange Upgrade is the precursor to the New M5 tunnels to St Peters, which will slash travel times on the existing M5 East. The New M5 is due to open in 2019. Work started on the interchange upgrade in July 2015, following a rigorous environmental assessment, which led to planning approval in March 2015. The upgrade is supporting around 100 jobs and is one of three WestConnex projects currently under construction, with work underway between Parramatta and Haberfield on the M4 Widening and M4 East. In 2031, with a completed WestConnex, motorists will save around 30 minutes off a on a typical peak journey between Liverpool and the South Sydney employment area.
