M8 Motorway (Sydney)
M8 Motorway | |
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Westbound view of the M8 tunnel | |
Coordinates |
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General information | |
Type | Kingsgrove, Sydney |
Northeast end | Rozelle, Sydney |
Highway system | |
The M8 Motorway is a 15.2-kilometre (9.4 mi) tolled dual carriageway motorway in Sydney that is designated the M8 route marker. It consists predominantly of tunnels and includes tunnel connections to the future Western Harbour Tunnel and the M6 Motorway.
As of November 2023[update], the M8 Motorway comprises only the WestConnex M8 tolled motorway which opened in multiple stages:
- The first stage to open (previously known as the New M5) was a 9-kilometre (5.6 mi) section that links the
- The second and third stages to open (previously known as part of the M4–M5 Link and later M4–M8 Link) were extensions of WestConnex M8 from St Peters to Leichhardt where it meets the M4 Motorway and the Rozelle Interchange to allow connections with Victoria Road and the Anzac Bridge.
These sections were constructed as part of the WestConnex project, and WestConnex tolls are applied.
Future sections of the M8 are being constructed as the Western Harbour Tunnel, which will connect the M8 at Rozelle Interchange to the A8 at Neutral Bay.[3] Separate to WestConnex, it is expected to open in 2028.
Route
From its western end at
The route continues running parallel to Princes Highway past St Peters along the M4-M8 Link. crosses underneath the suburbs of
St Peters Interchange
St Peters Interchange is a road interchange of five roadways, namely:
- M8 towards the Kingsgrove
- M8 towards Rozelle
- Euston Road – towards Randwick
- Gardeners Road – towards Kingsford
- Sydney Gateway – towards Sydney Airport, expected to open in 2024
The interchange was built on the site of the former Alexandria Landfill waste facility,[6] and opened to traffic with the first section of the M8 Motorway in July 2020. At the time of opening, bridges and tunnel entrances/exits to the future sections of M8 and the Sydney Gateway had already been completed. The final bridge of the St Peters Interchange was put in place in October 2019.[7]
Until 2023, the interchange was the northern terminus of the M8 Motorway. When new sections of the motorway opened in January 2023, the alignment of the new tunnels bypassed the St Peters Interchange, and its approaches became entry and exit ramps of the motorway.
History
New M5 (First stage)
In 2009, the government released the M5 Transport Corridor Feasibility Study, which investigated strategic options for improving the M5 Motorway corridor. The study identified a preliminary preferred option, being the M5 East Duplication, consisted of duplicating the M5 East and construction of a new connection from the M5 East at Arncliffe to Euston Road, Qantas Drive and Gardeners Road.[8] The strategic concept for the M5 East Duplication was placed on public exhibition between November 2009 and March 2010 for community and stakeholder feedback. Feedback received was used to further develop and refine the scheme. In 2012, the scheme become the King Georges Road Interchange Upgrade and New M5 projects, the second stage of WestConnex. The New M5 would consist of separate tunnels parallel to the M5 East tunnels.
The New M5 had the potential to impact the critically endangered
M4–M5 Link (Second and third stages)
The section of WestConnex between St Peters and
The main tunnels between the M4 and M8 opened on 20 January 2023, with the M4 and M8 route markers extended to meet at Leichhardt until the Rozelle Interchange opened,[13] which it did on 26 November 2023, and the M8 route marker was further extended to Rozelle.[14]
Route numbering
Parts of this article (those related to the cancellation of Beaches Link and the opening of Rozelle Interchange) need to be updated.(November 2023) |
The M8 Motorway was first named in Section 300-2 of the Road Rules 2014, as amended in 2019, to be the tunnels between Beverly Hills and St Peters, and St Peters and Rozelle Interchange.[15] The modification report for The Crescent overpass released in April 2020 showed an image of the proposed signage "M8 North Sydney", indicating that M8 is to continue from Rozelle Interchange towards North Sydney via the Western Harbour Tunnel.[16] The official announcement of the M8 route designation in June 2020 confirmed that M8 will further continue along the Beaches Link and connect with the A8 in the Northern Beaches.[3]
The next section of the M8 that opened, the M4-M8 Link, is the third stage of the Westconnex project and has a long history in similar forms. It was previously known as the "M4 South"[17] and follows much of the alignment of the Inner West Motorway which originally formed the northern end of the F6 Freeway in the 1948 Cumberland County Plan to build an inner-city bypass and link the airport and shipping terminals.
Toll
Motorists are charged WestConnex distance-based tolls to use the twin tunnels. The toll charge consists of:
- a flagfall
- a charge per kilometre
Tolls for heavy vehicles are triple of cars and motorcycles. Toll prices increase by 4% or the consumer price index (CPI) every year, whichever is greater, until 2040, after which CPI will apply.[18]
As the M5 East and M8 are tolled under WestConnex, a vehicle travelling on the M5 East (between King Georges Road and M8) and M8 together will only incur a single toll.[19]
Toll road | Class A toll prices[a] | Class B toll prices[a] | Toll increase[22] | Toll concessionaire | Expiry of toll concession[23] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flagfall | Charge per km | Toll cap
| |||||
WestConnex (M4, M5 East, M8) |
$1.67 | $0.6164 | $11.78 | 3 x of Class A prices | Annually on 1 January, by the greater of CPI or 4% until December 2040, then by CPI only | Sydney Transport Partners (9% Tawreed Investments 10.5% CPPIB, 10% Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), 20.5% Australian Super, 50% Transurban )
|
2060
|
Exits and interchanges
LGA | Location | km[1] | mi | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kingsgrove | 0.0 | 0.0 | South Western Motorway (M5) – Liverpool, Campbelltown | Southern terminus of motorway and route M8 | |
Tunnel western terminus | |||||
Bayside | Arncliffe | 6.1 | 3.8 | M6 Motorway – Kogarah, Miranda, Sutherland | Under construction, expected completion late 2025 Northbound entrance and southbound exit only |
Cooks River | 6.5 | 4.0 | Cooks River tunnel | ||
Inner West | St Peters | 9.0 | 5.6 | WestConnex M8 northern terminus; M4–M8 Link southern terminus | |
Euston Road (north) – Alexandria, Waterloo, Randwick Gardeners Road (east) – Mascot, Kingsford Campbell Road – Enmore, Alexandria | St Peters Interchange | ||||
Parramatta, Penrith | M4-M8 Link continues along M4 Motorway Rozelle Interchange southern terminus | ||||
Lilyfield | 13.9 | 8.6 | Northern end of toll road | ||
Sydney, Anzac Bridge | Southbound entrance and northbound exit only | ||||
Cammeray | Under construction, expected completion 2028 | ||||
15.2 | 9.4 | Lane Cove, Ryde | Northern terminus of motorway and route M8 Rozelle Interchange northern terminus | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
References
- ^ a b Google (29 February 2024). "M8 Motorway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ a b c "WestConnex M8". WestConnex. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ a b c "New driver animations – As work ramps up on New M5 Tunnels" (Press release). WestConnex. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ "F6 Extension Stage 1 – New M5 Motorway at Arncliffe to President Avenue at Kogarah" (PDF). Transport for NSW: Roads and Maritime. NSW Government. June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ "WestConnex M8". WestConnex. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- ^ "Remediation and closure of Alexandria Landfill, St Peters" (PDF). WestConnex. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Final Piece in Place on New M5 Bridges" (Press release). WestConnex. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ "WestConnex New M5 – Environmental Impact Statement – Chapter 4". WestConnex. November 2015. p. 4-5. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- Department of the Environment. Archived from the original(PDF) on 29 July 2016.
- Department of the Environment and Energy. Archived from the originalon 29 July 2016.
- ^ "M8". WestConnex. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "M4 and M8 link to open ahead of schedule". Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. 19 January 2023.
- ^ "WestConnex nears completion with new 7.5km tunnel opening tomorrow under Sydney's inner west". ABC News. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
- ^ "Rozelle Interchange to open for Sydney drivers on Sunday morning". ABC News. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ "Road Rules 2014 Act as amended November 2019". Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ "Modification: The Crescent overpass and active transport Design amendment report". Major Projects – Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. April 2020. p. 56. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ "WestConnex State Significant Infrastructure Application Report". November 2013.
- ^ "Tolling". WestConnex. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ "Sydney Motorways Toll Calculator". Transport for NSW. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ "Toll costs by road". NSW Government. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
- ^ "What is my vehicle class?". Linkt. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "When and how do toll prices increase". Linkt. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ "Road tolling in New South Wales" (PDF). New South Wales Parliament. Portfolio Committee No.2 – Health and Community Services. October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
External links
- WestConnex M8 – WestConnex