Infrastructure: Pre-construction starts on WestConnex stage 2
Pre-construction work has begun on stage 2 of WestConnex, which is set to accelerate the delivery of the M5 East by 18 months.
A $2 billion concessional loan from the Australian Government will enable the WestConnex project team to undertake complex geotechnical drilling work on the M5 corridor.
There will be around 100 geotechnical drills along the M5 East route as part of pre-construction work for the new tunnels.
This pre-construction work is an important part of WestConnex Stage 2, which also includes:
- Upgrading the King Georges Road and M5 interchange to reduce congestion and improve travel time reliability.
- Widening to four lanes each way between King Georges Road, Beverly Hills, and the M5 tunnel portals.
- A tunnel from St Peters to join the widened M5 East surface section.
- Connections to St Peters and the airport precinct to cater for forecast job, housing and air travel growth.
Construction on the King Georges Road Interchange upgrade is expected to begin in 2015. The upgrade will remove a major bottleneck on the M5 as part of WestConnex Stage 2, and will precede construction work on the M5 East.
WestConnex will connect Sydney’s west and south west with the CBD, airport and port precincts, with the final stage due to be completed by 2023. It is also is expected to generate up to 10,000 jobs during construction, and deliver more than $20 billion in economic benefits to NSW.
Source: News Release NSW Government media release, 16 September 2014