Construction starts on WestConnex King Georges Road Interchange upgrade
The Australian and NSW governments last week announced that construction has begun on the $130 million King Georges Road Interchange Upgrade, which is being delivered by Fulton Hogan and forms part of WestConnex Stage Two.
The upgraded interchange will connect to an already widened M5 West (completed in December 2014) and is the precursor for the new M5 tunnel which will provide an extra three lanes in each direction between Beverly Hills and St Peters.
Work at the interchange involves 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. The project is due to be finished in two years.
The estimated $11 billion to $11.5 billion, 33-kilometre WestConnex tollway is being delivered in three stages, with the final stage due to open to traffic in 2023. The project will extend from Parramatta to Sydney’s CBD, Sydney Airport and the Port Botany precinct and the M5 in south-west Sydney and carry an estimated 400,000 vehicles per day.
The three WestConnex stages are:
- WestConnex Stage One: Will widen the M4 from Church Street at Parramatta to Homebush Bay Drive and extend the M4 via a tunnel east of Homebush Bay Drive, emerging near the Bunnings Warehouse on Parramatta Road or on Wattle Street, Haberfield.
- WestConnex Stage Two: Will deliver the New M5—to run from the existing M5 East corridor via tunnel to St Peters, as well as an upgrade of the King Georges Road Interchange.
- WestConnex Stage Three: Will join the M4 and M5 corridors—via a motorway tunnel with three lanes in each direction.
The NSW Government is providing $1.8 billion worth of funding for WestConnex and the Australian Government $1.5 billion, in addition to the concessional loan of up to $2 billion to fast-track Stage 2 of WestConnex from Beverly Hills to St Peters.
Source: News Release, Urbanalyst, 27 July, 2015