New M5 major milestone
18 Jul 2017
The $4.3 billion New M5 project has reached a major milestone with one year of construction work now completed. New M5 Director Ken Reynolds said the anniversary coincides with the completion of the first section of more than 100 concrete planks which are being installed to build the roof of the new eastbound tunnel portal. “In just one year, incredible progress has been made to deliver the New M5, which on completion will cut up to half an hour from an average peak journey between Liverpool and South Sydney, enabling motorists to travel from Beverly Hills to St Peters in around 10 minutes,” Mr Reynolds said. “There are around 1,500 workers on site every day, and the project remains on track with construction activity under way at all sites, and work for the local road upgrades progressing. “Since tunnelling first began last year more than 280,000 tonne of material has now been excavated and access tunnels across all four sites - St Peters, Arncliffe, Bexley and Kingsgrove - have now reached the mainline so work can progress to build the twin nine kilometre tunnels from Kingsgrove to St Peters. “More than half of the 16 roadheaders which will be in action at the peak of construction are now in the ground with 10 machines working around the clock within the mainline tunnels.” The New M5 will not only provide relief for motorists travelling on this crucial south-west corridor, it's also creating significant economic opportunities throughout construction. “In the past 12 months almost 40,000 cubic metres of concreate has been poured, and more than 5,500 tonnes of steel has been used across the project " all sourced from Australian suppliers,” Mr Reynolds said. “It's also helped to support more than 300 sub-contractors and almost 400 businesses who have signed contracts to complete jobs such as piling, traffic control management, and geotechnical work. “This number will continue to rise as work ramps up creating more opportunities for western Sydney to thrive.” Opening to traffic in early 2020, the New M5 will provide new twin tunnels which will run roughly parallel to the existing M5 East and double the existing motorway corridor from two to four lanes in each direction. Average travel times on the M5 East will generally be halved and average travel speeds doubled, during peak times for the more than 100,000 motorists who use the corridor every day. In addition to delivering vital infrastructure for motorists, WestConnex will also create more open green spaces and parkland for local families and residents to enjoy. “Development of the St Peters Interchange as part of the New M5 will result in an additional 8.5 hectares of open green space and around 12 kilometres of new and improved shared pedestrian and cycle paths, extending and improving transport links around St Peters and Mascot,” Mr Reynolds said.
