Australia’s Longest Continuous Underground Motorway Opens in Sydney

At 3am this morning, two major Sydney motorways were joined – the tunnels connecting the M4 at Haberfield and the M8 at St Peters – creating the longest continuous underground motorway in Australia. It’s the latest leg in the $16 billion Westconnex motorway project, which has been under construction for four years. It’s also Australia’s largest road infrastructure project.

“This vital new link will save motorists up to 40 minutes on their journey between Western Sydney and Sydney Airport, bypassing 52 sets of traffic lights by travelling through 22 kilometres of tunnels deep under the city,” Premier Dominic Perrottet said at a press conference.

The new link cost $3.2 billion to build, and car drivers will pay $5.65 to use it, while heavy vehicles will be tolled $16.95. It will be $11.11 to travel the entire Westconnex by car, and $33.32 for heavy vehicles. In 2021, the NSW Government sold the road to Transurban, which has managed Westconnex since 2018.

While it celebrated a milestone this week, the Westconnex project has been marred by controversy, including cost blowouts and resident anger over pollution and planning issues.