New M4 Tunnels to open this weekend
10 Jul 2019
The new M4 Tunnels will open from Saturday morning, slashing travel times for tens of thousands of Western Sydney drivers who currently sit in traffic on Parramatta Road every day.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new M4 Tunnels will bypass 22 sets of traffic lights from Homebush to Haberfield and cut up to 20 minutes off a trip from Parramatta to the Sydney CBD.
“We are now just days away from drivers benefiting from the first underground section of WestConnex,” Ms Berejiklian said. “This is yet another major project which will allow people to spend less time in traffic and more time doing what they want.”
Federal Minister for Population, Cities and Urban Infrastructure the Hon Alan Tudge said the M4 Tunnels are the first of four tunnel pieces in the WestConnex puzzle. “This gamechanging project will help bust Sydney's congestion, cutting travel times and return local streets to locals,” Mr Tudge said.
Minister for Roads Andrew Constance said within two years it is expected about 67,000 trips will be made through the new M4 Tunnels each day. “WestConnex will take up to 10,000 trucks a day off Parramatta Road, which is welcome news for anyone who sits in bumper to bumper traffic on that notoriously congested corridor,” Mr Constance said.“I would like to thank communities for their patience throughout construction over the past three years.”
The $3.8 billion 5.5 kilometre twin tunnels will be three lanes in each direction and extend the widened M4 from Homebush to Haberfield.It is expected to reduce the overall traffic volume on Parramatta Road by 53 per cent by 2021. The WestConnex project also includes the New M5, the M4-M5 Link and the Rozelle Interchange, connecting Sydney's west and southwest via more than 30km of continuous motorway.
