James Ruse Drive closed for seven nights while girders craned onto new overpass
19 Sep 2016
The section of James Ruse Drive that passes under the M4 Motorway will be closed for seven nights, starting this Monday night, to enable girders to be craned into place on the new overpass above. The new overpass will support an additional two motorway lanes as part of the WestConnex M4 Widening project. Seven girders need to be craned into place for the section of the new overpass that is suspended over James Ruse Drive. The roadway below will be closed in both directions while the night work is carried out. Two westbound lanes of the M4 Motorway will also be closed to enable the girders to be transported to the site from the pre-cast yard. Project Director Terry Chapman said it was essential the work was carried out at night when traffic is at its lightest. “This is a complex construction task and one which we need to do at night to minimise disruptions to traffic on the motorway and on James Ruse Drive,” said Project Director Terry Chapman. “We need to close James Ruse Drive where it passes under the existing motorway, while the girders are craned into place above. “It is expected to take as many as seven nights to complete the installation of seven girders on this section of the new overpass and we thank motorists for their patience,” he said. James Ruse Drive will be closed in both directions where it passes under the M4 motorway " between the eastbound motorway on-ramp and the westbound motorway off-ramp. Each night closure will generally be from midnight until 4am. Weather permitting, the night closures are scheduled to begin at midnight this Monday night and continue until 4am the following Monday morning. Both the M4 Motorway on and off-ramps connecting with James Ruse Drive will remain open during the work. Detours will be detailed on variable message signs and also via livetraffic. Diversions will include: Southbound on James Ruse Dr " east via M4, south on Silverwater Rd then west on Parramatta Rd Westbound traffic on Parramatta Rd and northbound traffic on Woodville Rd " north on Church St, then east on Parkes and Hassell streets Eastbound traffic on Parramatta Road " continue east on Parramatta Road, then north on Silverwater Rd and west on Victoria Rd Motorists are encouraged to plan their journey and check livetraffic before travelling for latest closure updates. “We ask motorists to allow extra travel time if they would normally use that section of James Ruse Drive or westbound lanes of the M4 while this vital work is carried out,” Mr Chapman said. Once finished, the widened and extended M4 will allow motorists to travel between Haberfield and the Blue Mountains without stopping at a single traffic light. For the latest traffic information, visit www.livetraffic.com.
