On the 5th of November 2021 the team excavating the M4-M5 Link Tunnels, completed their 13th and final breakthrough on the mainline tunnels. Road headers 43 meters below ground were used to connect both the north and southbound tunnels for the first time. This breakthrough completes the missing link between the new M4 Tunnels at Haberfield and the M8 at St Peters.
The M4-M5 Link Tunnels will remove tens of thousands of vehicles from surrounding streets, including Parramatta Road, and will help slash up to 40 minutes from an average peak journey between Parramatta and the Sydney Airport.
The EUR 10.71 bn (AUD16.8 bn) project will not only cut travel times and it will also support thousands of families with work as Sydney and Australia are now reopening from COVID lockdowns.
The third stage of WestConnex is now another step closer to forming a western bypass of the Sydney CBD. The Commonwealth Government had co-funded WestConnex from the outset with a grant of EUR 956.27 million (AUD1.5 bn) and a concessional loan of EUR 1.28 bn (AUD2 bn).
When opened to traffic in 2023, the M4-M5 Link Tunnels and Rozelle Interchange will complete the 33 km WestConnex project, changing the lives of thousands of people, bypassing dozens of sets of traffic lights and allowing an uninterrupted drive from the Blue Mountains to the city: 22 km of WestConnex will be underground, including the 7.5 km M4-M5 Link Tunnels.
Click here for a video of the project, here for further information here and au/13 for more detailed information in the tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://www.westconnex.com.au/ and https://www.pm.gov.au. 45/21.
