A $550 million upgrade of the M2 Motorway will begin by the end of 2010 after a contract was signed by the NSW government and a private road operator.
The M2 will be widened to three lanes in both directions – eastbound between Windsor Road and Lane Cove Road and westbound from Lane Cove Road to Pennant Hills Road.
Roads Minister David Borger says the work will be funded by Hills Motorway Ltd, with motorists to be charged a one-off toll increase of 7.7 per cent upon completion of the upgrade in two years.
“This is great news for the 120,000 people who use the M2 every weekday,” Mr Borger told reporters on Tuesday.
“The widened M2 will mean an increased capacity and improved traffic flow for motorists and buses.
“Once the work is complete, motorists can expect improved travel times.”
The M2 upgrade would generate about 800 construction and engineering jobs, and 2400 indirect jobs, Mr Borger said.
The work will add about 18km of new traffic lanes. A dedicated bus lane has yet to be decided.
The Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF) welcomed the move to widen the motorway, but warned it was no substitute for a heavy rail link.
“Seventeen thousand people who catch buses along the Hills M2 motorway every week rely on the road having adequate capacity now and in the future,” TTF managing director Christopher Brown said in a statement.
“This is a critical investment in the mobility of residents in Sydney’s northwest and improves access to Norwest Business Park, Macquarie University and Macquarie Business Park.”
However, Sydney’s northwest needed further investment in transport infrastructure, Mr Brown added.
“Sydney is drowning in congestion and that demands a rigorous program to deliver new public transport and expand the capacity of the motorway network,” IPA executive director Brendan Lyon said.
“The progress on the M2 widening shows that the private sector will invest in good projects – so it’s time to see the government advance the next suite of projects like the M5 widening and the M5 East and a host of rail and public transport projects.
“NSW has a very professional public service, and it’s time that the NSW government allowed them to deliver a real, long-term and integrated plan for the future of Sydney’s infrastructure.”
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