Sydney Orbital Network

The Sydney Orbital Network is a 110 kilometre[1] motorway standard ring road around and through Sydney, the capital of New South Wales in Australia. It runs north from Sydney Airport, underneath the CBD to the North Shore, west to the Hills District, south to Prestons and then east to connect with the airport. Much of the road is privately owned and financed by tolls.

General Holmes Drive, looking south-west from the Sydney Airport overpass. It is part of the M1 and Orbital Road.

Sydney Orbital Network

Map of the Sydney Orbital Network
General information
TypeFreeway
LocationSydney
Length110 km (68 mi)
OpenedCompleted 2007
Route number(s)
Major junctions
Highway system

History

Planning for this beltway, orbital or ring road began as early as 1962 under the "County of Cumberland scheme" (CCS) and was talked about as far back as 1944. Then, from 1973 to 1989, things started to take shape with new sections opening-up and then further advancing by 1999. In 2007, the Lane Cove Tunnel opened, completing the orbital network.

Motorways that make up the orbital road

The 110 km Sydney orbital consists of several motorways and freeways, they are listed below:

The major sunken/underground sections of the orbital are:

  • Sydney Harbour Tunnel
  • Eastern Distributor
  • M5 East tunnel
  • Epping Tunnel (M2 Hills Motorway, although not really a major tunnel)
  • Sunken Section of the M2 Hills Motorway (The trench between Epping Road)
  • Lane Cove Tunnel

The major elevated sections are:

There is significant upgrade work occurring as part of the WestConnex project, which will see the M5 duplicated (total of 4 lanes each way) along with the addition of new freeways to the Sydney network.

Tolling

The Sydney Orbital Road Network consists of a number of roads built by private companies: tolling is mostly unavoidable when using the road network. A $6.95 toll was added to the M5 East motorway from King Georges Road to Marsh Street on the 5th of July 2020,[2] to coincide with the opening of the M8 tunnel.

RoadDirectionOpenedToll Collection MethodToll PricingPriceOperator
Eastern Distributor Northbound1999ElectronicFlat rate$7.23Transurban
M5 South Western Motorway Both1992ElectronicFlat rate$4.65Interlink Roads
M5 East Motorway Both 2001 Electronic Flat rate $6.95 WCX M5 PT Pty Ltd[3]
Westlink M7 Both2005ElectronicDistance based$0.3996/km - capped at $7.99NorthWestern Roads Group (NWRG)
M2 Hills Motorway Both1997ElectronicEach direction/ Fixed$7.16 (North Ryde)
$3.58 (Pennant Hills Road)
$2.53 (Windsor Road)
$2.12 (Lane Cove Road)
$3.58 (Herring & Christie Roads)
Transurban
Lane Cove Tunnel Both2007ElectronicFlat rate$3.27Transurban
Sydney Harbour Tunnel Southbound1992ElectronicTime basedWeekdays $3.00 (9.30am - 4pm) $4 (6.30am - 9.30am, 4pm - 7pm) $2.50 (7pm - 6.30am); Weekends $3 (8am - 8pm) $2.50 (8pm - 8am)Transport for NSW

Intercity highways are linked to the Orbital, moving traffic away from the old busy National Routes. They are:

  • M6 Motorway A proposal that links the New M5 Tunnels and the southern suburbs of Sydney, as the M6 Motorway. The only section which was built is the Captain Cook Bridge and its approaches. Land is still reserved north of this point through Sandringham, and south through the Royal National Park. In October 2017, the government announced it will proceed with Stage 1 of the F6 extension, which will run via two 4 km tunnels linking the New M5 tunnels at Arncliffe to President Avenue at Kogarah.[4] In October 2019, the government announced a name change of the extension to M6 Motorway and also confirmed the completion date of Stage 1 would be pushed back to late 2025, with major construction to begin by early 2022.[5]
  • WestConnex A proposal that incorporates the M5 duplication project and the M4 East extension of the M4 Motorway to the M5 Motorway, involving a cutting along Parramatta Road, a tunnel from Tavener's Hill to St Peters and a surface motorway to the M5 at Arncliffe.

See also

icon Australian roads portal

References

  1. RTA Website Motorways and tolling
  2. "Tolling | Westconnex". Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. "Tolling | Westconnex". Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. "F6 Extension - Stage 1". Roads & Maritime Services. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  5. "Sydney's south on the move with the new M6". NSW Government. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
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