The Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway Upgrade (the project) - proposed by Transport for NSW - has been approved by the NSW Government (the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces).
The project involves two main components:
• a new crossing of Sydney Harbour via two 6.5km separate tolled motorway tunnels connecting the Westconnex (M4-M5 Link) at Rozelle and the Warringah Freeway at North Sydney (Western Harbour Tunnel);
• upgrade and integration works along the existing Warringah Freeway, to connect new motorway infrastructure with the existing road network and provide infrastructure required for future connections to the Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway Connection project (the Warringah Freeway Upgrade).
The project forms part of the Western Harbour Tunnel and Beaches Link program of works. While Beaches Link and Gore Hill Freeway Connection projects are subject to separate environmental assessment and approval process, together the projects would provide additional road network capacity across Sydney Harbour, improve transport connectivity to the Northern Beaches and provide benefits for freight, public transport and private road users.
The Western Harbour Tunnel would involve a western bypass of Sydney’s CBD, providing an alternative to the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Western Distributor and ANZAC Bridge, and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. The Warringah Freeway Upgrade would involve widening in parts, and associated surface road and intersection improvements. The provision of a continuous dedicated southbound bus lane would benefit public transport on the Warringah Freeway, providing direct bus access to North Sydney from the north.
The Western Harbour Tunnel would commence at the Rozelle Interchange, pass under Balmain and Birchgrove, then across Sydney Harbour between Birchgrove and Balls Head Reserve and continue under Waverton and North Sydney to link directly with the Warringah Freeway north of the Falcon Street overpass. The Warringah Freeway Upgrade would be carried out on the Warringah Freeway from Fitzroy Street at Milsons Point to Willoughby Road at Naremburn. Upgrade works include improvements to bridges that cross the freeway, upgrades to surrounding roads and shared user facilities. For more information on the project click here and here. Visit https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au. 04/21.
