M8 Motorway (Sydney)

The M8 Motorway is a motorway in Sydney, Australia. The first and only stage of the M8 open to traffic is the WestConnex M8, previously known as the New M5 during planning and construction.

The WestConnex M8 is a tolled motorway that links the M5 Motorway at to St Peters Interchange. It consists predominantly of tunnels, and includes tunnel connections to the future M4–M5 Link (the second stage of M8) and the future M6 Motorway. Planned and constructed as part of the WestConnex project, WestConnex tolls are applied to the motorway. It is one of the longest road tunnels in Australia along with the NorthConnex.

Construction of the M8 motorway began in July 2016 and the WestConnex M8 stage opened on 5 July 2020 at an estimated project cost of 4.335 billion. The M8 motorway is being extended to which will be completed in 2023. Future stages of the M8 will also open after 2026 to connect with the A8 in the Northern Beaches, via the Western Harbour Tunnel & Beaches Link.

Route

From its western end at , the route branches out of the M5 corridor and travels parallel to the M5 East. The route then curves to the north and runs parallel to Princes Highway before terminating at St Peters Interchange in , with further connections towards the Eastern Suburbs via Euston Road and Gardeners Road, and towards Sydney Airport via the proposed Sydney Gateway.

The WestConnex M8 (first stage of M8) does not have any intermediate exits. However, tunnel connections to the future M6 Motorway towards Southern Sydney and Wollongong have already been built.

The M8 is currently marked at two lanes in each direction, with capacity for a third lane to be added if required.

In September 2022, the government announced that the M4–M5 Link will be referred to as extensions of the M4 and M8 when the link opens in 2023.

St Peters Interchange

St Peters Interchange opened to traffic when M8 opened on 5 July 2020. It was built on the site of the former Alexandria Landfill waste facility.

When fully completed in 2024, the St Peters Interchange will be an interchange of five roadways, namely:
*M8 towards the M5 at first stage of M8, formerly the New M5
*M8 towards Rozelle Interchange at second stage of M8, formerly the M4–M5 Link, expected to open in 2023
*Euston Roadtowards
*Gardeners Roadtowards
* Sydney Gatewaytowards Sydney Airport, expected to open in 2024

The M8 will bypass the St Peters Interchange, with the existing approach to the interchange to become entry and exit ramps of the motorway.

Bridges and tunnel entrances/exits to the second stage of M8 and Sydney Gateway have already been completed when the first stage of M8 and the interchange opened. The final bridge of the St Peters Interchange was put in place in October 2019.

Exits and interchanges

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.

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.

History

New M5

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. 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 Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark ecological community and the green and golden bell frog, which are listed under the Commonwealth '' Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999''. Environmental approval from the federal Minister for the Environment was granted on 11 July 2016 and construction commenced later that month. On 3 June 2020, M8 was revealed as the new name and route designation for the New M5, and it opened on 5 July 2020.

Route numbering

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. 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. The official announcement of the M8 route designation in June 2020 confirmed that M8 will further continue along the Beaches Link Tunnel and connect with the A8 in the Northern Beaches.

The next section of the M8 to open, currently known as the M4-M5 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” 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.

See also

* List of highways in New South Wales
* List of motorways in New South Wales

References

External links

WestConnex M8
- WestConnex

{{Road infrastructure in Sydney

Highways in Sydney
Toll roads in Australia
Toll tunnels in Australia
Tunnels in Sydney