The Westlink M7 is the largest urban infrastructure project in Australia and will augment Sydney's rapidly growing and increasingly more complex road system. It also acts as a major thoroughfare for interstate traffic travelling through Sydney from the south, west and north.

Facts

40km of motorway will link three of Sydney's major motorways into the city; the M5 in the south, the M4 in the west and the M2 in the north.

http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/images/WestlinkGallery/Gallery1/mid/M5_Interchange_3.jpg http://www.leightoncontractors.com.au/images/project/M5con-copy-2_v2.jpg
The M5 interchange will greet interstate travellers from Victoria and south-western NSW as they enter the M5 East Motorway into inner Sydney and the International Airport.

176 bridges and 38 under-and-over passes will be constructed. There will be numerous interchanges to connect the M7 to local roads, highways and the other motorways.
http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/images/WestlinkGallery/Gallery1/mid/02_Elizabeth_Drive_Int.jpg

A 40km off-road shared cycle/pedestrian pathway traverses the motorway and connects with the Sydney Cycleway network.

The motorway will be completely tolled electronically with no slowing or stopping.

The M7 will allow motorists to avoid up to 56 sets of traffic lights across Western Sydney and will act as a major north/south freight corridor along the Eastern Seaboard.

A predicted 60000 vehicles a day will be removed from local roads, including 10000 heavy vehicles.

7000000 cubic metres of material will be moved during the earthwork phase.

460000 cubic metres of concrete pavement to be laid with 12000 tonnes of reinforced steel. There will be over 2000000 square metres of landscaping.

The intersection of the M7 with the M4 will be called the Light Horse Interchange to honour WWI veterans and will allow motorists from every direction to travel between the two motorways without any slowing or stopping.
http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/images/WestlinkGallery/Gallery1/mid/03_M4_Interchange.jpg
When completed, the interchange will become the largest interchange in the southern hemisphere. Two major balanced-cantilever bridges will carry the M7 over the M4 and three levels of onramps will connect the two motorways. Construction of the interchange will be very visual as the awe-inspiring development reminiscent of those in American cities takes place over the next twelve months.

How much is this project going to cost? It looks like an absolutely massive infrastructure project. Any maps of where it is going and where it will run?

whoops, img didn't work

Will anything be done to the end of the f3?

It should be extended along Pennant hills road and join up with the m2

How much is this project going to cost? It looks like an absolutely massive infrastructure project. Any maps of where it is going and where it will run?

The project will cost $1.25 billion. Also here is a link to view a map of the route.
http://www.wso.net.au/MapsBrochures-Map.asp#

For those who want to find more information on the orbital, here is a link to the offical website

http://www.wso.net.au/

Will anything be done to the end of the f3?

It should be extended along Pennant hills road and join up with the m2

Still 'on the drawing board'. Much like most of Sydney's incompleted road/rail projects. However, there are plans for a tunnel under Pennant Hills Road, from Pennant Hills Road Exit ramp to join up @ the existing F3

actually that project will shortly commence EIS, provided the Commonwealth don't reject it outright.

the M4 - M7 intercahnge will look so cool when they add the lightening effects!, when i was going past the construction site for the m5 - m7 most of the landscaping is done and the constrcution of the overpasses have started.

I think you mean earthworks, as opposed to landscaping....

Will we have to pass a test before we are allowed to use the M4-M7 interchange? Will all drivers have to be accompanied by a trained guide? Will I need valium, a passport and a change of underwear?
Talk about a spaghetti interchange!!!!

will depend on the signage. . .

whoops, posted the wrong pic for M4-M7 interchange. Just updated the correct one, folks.

It's a stack interchange. nothing hard about it. 1 AD and 1 ID sign for each 'exit' should do it.

AD on the M4 would need to be a double fork, to show Walgrove Road as well. But fork signage I don't think would impart well that the exit is for both M7 NB and M7 SB, ditto for M7 to M4 WB and EB. A diagramatic AD sign would be better and a gantry on each exit ramp at the splitting into two ramps.

double fork? i thought the m4 m7 is just a plain 4 stack intercahnge with an exit for walgrove road.

It's a stack next to a diamond. And hornetfig, your point is an interesting one re the need for a double fork AD sign.
Syd-HK, by double fork, he means one of these signs:
http://madmartigan.net/smeghead/DSC01456.jpg

But I don't think a gantry is needed to designate the splitting of the ramp into NB & SB (when exiting from M4). Something like this would be adequate:
http://www.ozroads.blotsort.com/NSW/Freeways/WarringahFreeway/Map%202/Miller%20St-ID1,2.JPG

true, although that style of signage is no longer used at exits, it can be brought back.


Oh, and that's that double fork sign I mean just about 5x bigger! lol

um... i think there would be an update of this project by now ...

well, what do you want to know? The M4 and M5 interchanges have major bridgeworks about to commence that (involving night roadworks and carriageway closures). The M5 offramp to SR89 (Camden Valley Way) at the Crossroads is about to be moved onto Beech Road.

The Phillip Parkway has been shifted onto the new M7 carriageway and the old carriageway will be ripped up and relaid.

That's about it. Service relocation, bridge construction, pavement and landscaping occuring at various points along the corridor

update [from me of course !]
m5-m7 intercahnge

-flyovers starting to be placed onto supports [only like 5 ~ 10m of it on certain supports]
-merging lanes added [not in use yet]
-lightening for teh interchange added
-traffic lights added for the exit
-the m5 carriageways ahve been shifted to their new positions

-NOTICE-
there will be a closure on M5 sometiem soon, in between hume highway exit and camden valley exit.

...at night.

Yeah, there's a heap of work going on at Casula with the intersection of the M5 and M7... I'll try and get some pics in the future....

I drove through the location of the "spaghetti" interchange at Eastern Creek last night. Unfortunately I was too focused on driving the car to pay attention to what was happening (and chatting with a friend of mine). What I can say is that The bridge that will carry M7 traffic over the M4 is progressing fairly well atm

They were hard at it late last night at 11pm.

The main deck bridge ought be almost complete. The lower level of flyover ramps are due to start next month

The main deck bridge ought be almost complete. The lower level of flyover ramps are due to start next month

Thats what I saw. I was going to say that I didn't notice any of the flyover ramps either. I thought the Pylons that support the bridge deck were massive. :)

Anyone have pics, coz da web site is a few months behind. :)

Anyone get out that way? Photos? Descriptions of progress?

www.westlinkm7.com.au

I'm well aware of the official website, I thought someone might be able to get some more current photos - they only have 3 photos in the last 6 months.

I know what's happenening with the northern connection to the M2 but I haven't managed to get down south.

New diagrams of interchanges posted on official website under 'maps and photos' --> 'interchange diagrams'.

and they're in the order of 1MB each and not terribly accurate, or useful for that matter...

^ OK. UR right, the site does have low resolution photos, and their files are quite old. I was trying to find current photos of the M7/M5 interchange and thought a golf course on the western side (Ash and Kurrajong roads) would be good instead of wasting the green corridor along Maxwell Creek.> perhaps be 'after plan' :)

and they're in the order of 1MB each and not terribly accurate, or useful for that matter...

Well anything on that website is just for PR purposes - they're just supposed to be indicative of where on/off ramps are. Obviously they can't post the proper engineering drawings. I've only seen those for the M2/M7 connection and clearly the two don't resemble each other at all.

well, if you compare it to the maps section of the website, or indeed the Mitcham-Frankston website, then they're just patently bad...

You don't necessarily want the actual CAD drawings, but you want a tarted-up version based on them, not something that doesn't even necessarily bear any good resemblance to the actual design. The M5-M7 one is the worst.

It's a stack next to a diamond. And hornetfig, your point is an interesting one re the need for a double fork AD sign.
Syd-HK, by double fork, he means one of these signs:
http://madmartigan.net/smeghead/DSC01456.jpg

I Know the one, Its The Western Fwy/Centenary Hwy In Brisbane. Fig tree pocket and Moggill Rds exits.

The project is massive in all respects. Hopefully it will achieve what it was set out to do. Either way, it can only add to the roads. Hopefully a fully electronic system could be introduced to all tolls esp the bridge. It would def help out.
Here are some pics from the
site...

http://www.wso.net.au/images/wsomap/maps/map5.gif


http://www.wso.net.au/images/wsomap/maps/map6.gif


http://www.wso.net.au/images/wsomap/maps/map1.gif

http://www.wso.net.au/images/wsomap/maps/map8.gif

now if something of this scale was undetaken for rail, i reckon all Sydney's traffic problems would be as good as gone. I can see that happening in the near future tho..

Ausway is a great street directory! Its a Melbourne based company. > Should try to expand its products to Brisbane PERTH AND NEWCASTLE.

Ausway is a great street directory! Its a Melbourne based company. > Should try to expand its products to Brisbane PERTH AND NEWCASTLE.

And Adelaide, Darwin, Singapore, London, Paris, New York and LA. They are the best street directories in the world. They should expand overseas.

Hopefully a fully electronic system could be introduced to all tolls esp the bridge. It would def help out.

That will happen relatively soon. The Harbour tunnel is set to go electronic soon, although we've heard plans for that for some time now and they keep extending it. The M2 will almost certainly do it once the M7 and Lane Cove Tunnel have opened. Cross City Tunnel obviously opens soon and will be fully electronic.
Then you've just got M4, M5 and bridge.
And clearly any new roads (M4 east, M2-M7 link, M6) will be fully electronic.

And Adelaide, Darwin, Singapore, London, Paris, New York and LA. They are the best street directories in the world. They should expand overseas.
I never used to believe this, but after sampling a recent Sydways street directory, I concur... meanwhile, the M7 interchange at the Crossroads is going gangbusters.. There's flyovers all over the place! :lol: looks cool...

...meanwhile, the M7 interchange at the Crossroads is going gangbusters.. There's flyovers all over the place! :lol: looks cool...You mean like this? Below pic from today's Sydney Morning Herald of the M7 & M4 Interchange :eek: BTW They better get a move on if it's to open April next year lol

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/509/379westlinkm7.JPG

^^

Did they stop supplying breaks in cars or something? Why can't you people stop at a set of lights for 2 minutes like normal people?

what? you mean like why are they making all of those ramps and stuff but no traffic lights insted ( being cheaper ) ?

what? you mean like why are they making all of those ramps and stuff but no traffic lights insted ( being cheaper ) ?

If that's the question, it needn't be dignified with a response.

whats that suppost to mean? Im trying to help tony here.. do you mean he said something stupid or did I ???

No, not you. I'm not quite sure I understand Tony's point. Is he asking why we don't put traffic lights on freeway interchanges? If so, my previous response applies to that question.

yeah i understand :P It didnt sorta make sense what he said.

Well its been standard practice in Australia to not even bother with interchanges.

I think it is embarrassing that it has taken us this long for a spaghetti junction freeway interchange. We are so used to being dumped directly on arterial roads via lights this is a totally new concept hmm one the world found decades ago. What is wrong with Australia?

Well, it's a totally new concept in Sydney because these are the first two intersecting freeways.

ok now its making sense. I can undertand why he asked it now.. Why do they make these spaghetti junctions? I can understand it makes the traffic flow alot easyer and non stop, but what is actually wrong with waiting a couple of mins at a set of traffic lights? It must cost alot of money for these juntions to be put in when traffic lights would be a way cheaper option.

Because it's a freeway-freeway interchange. It wouldn't be a freeway by definition if there were traffic lights. Why contribute to congestion by putting more traffic lights in?

ok now its making sense. I can undertand why he asked it now.. Why do they make these spaghetti junctions? I can understand it makes the traffic flow alot easyer and non stop, but what is actually wrong with waiting a couple of mins at a set of traffic lights? It must cost alot of money for these juntions to be put in when traffic lights would be a way cheaper option.

Correction traffic lights dont make traffic flow AT ALL!

Why do you think our roads and freeways are so up the shit compared with every developed nation on earth?

ok ok point taken :P

I wish they'd open a spaghetti factory and start making special order spaghetti dishes all over the city.

That pic is cool, looks like syd is getting some LA style roads. I take it that there will be more of these junctions along the M7 but not as big as that or are they planning more?

Could not agree more with Avatar - It's about time that we have interchages and entry / exit point to Motorways / Freeway "Traffic Light" Free. I travelled extensively overseas, and in particular in Italy where there are no Trafic Lights interchanging with Freeways - Let's hope that this is the start of thing to come

Let's hope that this is the start of thing to comeHave you seen the Western Distributor lately? :nuts:

Have you seen the Western Distributor lately? :nuts:

LOL well yes there is that interchange but to be honest, it's a big mess esp for west-bound traffic. The E-Tag is helping traffic flow now which is of benefit. The western distrubutor spews crap all over the place - into glebe, pyrmont and beyond. Most of it ends in our favoured traffic lights somewhere. This new interchange is a step way above the WD. It's exciting we are now getting better planned, high speed interchanges in Aust.

^^

Did they stop supplying breaks in cars or something? Why can't you people stop at a set of lights for 2 minutes like normal people?

Im bewildered with ur apparent infatuating comments, the entire purpose of this program is clearly to reduce traffic congestion, if your looking for some sort of vindication you seem to have failed flowlessly and indefinately.

P.

Im bewildered with ur apparent infatuating comments, the entire purpose of this program is clearly to reduce traffic congestion, if your looking for some sort of vindication you seem to have failed flowlessly and indefinately.

P.
You have no Clue and you don't know what your talking about - Traffic Lights cause cars to stop which measns more pollution - Like I indicated earlier, travel to world - It obvioursly sounds that you have not travelled

I don't get this description of the thing as spaghetti. It's a perfectly regimented four level stack. It is slight skewed to one side, and is above the level of an existing diamond interchange but otherwise would be four-way symmetrical -

see
http://www.kurumi.com/roads/interchanges/stack.html
http://www.kurumi.com/roads/interchanges/stack.gif

Well, I think people just use spaghetti as a generic term to denote a collection of road 'strands', be they symmetrical or otherwise. Perhaps tortellini would be a more apt description.

Traffic Lights are valid when the speed is lower - imagine being at the end of a line of cars waiting at the lights hoping that the traffic travelling at 110 Kmh towards your rear has seen your brake lights and is slowing down.

Traffic lights are never valid on a freeway interchange.

You have no Clue and you don't know what your talking about - Traffic Lights cause cars to stop which measns more pollution - Like I indicated earlier, travel to world - It obvioursly sounds that you have not travelled

Hey imbecile, contrarily if you read my response correctly you will find that it coincides with your perpective, the person i quoted did not like the idea of junctions, and reffered to persons stopping at traffic lights as "normal", read my response meticulously before responding and making an idiot out of yourself. Please ensuing this, do not attempt to precipitate devioded assumptions.

P.

I don't get this description of the thing as spaghetti. It's a perfectly regimented four level stack. It is slight skewed to one side, and is above the level of an existing diamond interchange but otherwise would be four-way symmetrical -

see
http://www.kurumi.com/roads/interchanges/stack.html
http://www.kurumi.com/roads/interchanges/stack.gif

Don't they call them 4 leaf clovers? or is that something entirley diffrent?

http://www.kurumi.com/roads/interchanges/cloverleaf.gif

Cloverleaf from site posted above.

yeah a cloverleaf is a two level interchange. To turn right, you actually go around the 270 degree cloverleaf ramp. In a stack interchange, the movement is direct - you do a 90 degree turn to the right by going up and over the other roadways.

is E-Tag an Australian thing and design, if not, what other countries in the world use a similar system?

Hey imbecile, contrarily if you read my response correctly you will find that it coincides with your perpective, the person i quoted did not like the idea of junctions, and reffered to persons stopping at traffic lights as "normal", read my response meticulously before responding and making an idiot out of yourself. Please ensuing this, do not attempt to precipitate devioded assumptions.

P.
Non ti volevo offendere - allora ci sta qualcuno che capise and sa come si controuise un autostranda - Scusa, per non riferivo a lei!!!!!!

is E-Tag an Australian thing and design, if not, what other countries in the world use a similar system?

No. They're used all over the world. E-Tag is just a generic term as there are a couple of different types of tags supplied by different companies. The Q-free tags were first used in Norway and are used by the RTA(E-toll) and Tollaust-M2(Express Tag). Interlink uses another tag supplier whose name escapes me at the moment.

Why is there even arguement over us getting this interchange - some of you seem to be questioning it... it would be better if we had far fewer traffic lights in our country - traffic would invariably move more smoothly with interchanges, over and under passes.

The reason why we dont have more is two fold but basically due to that same reason - money... noone wants to spend money on decent roads and intersection/interchange design so instead we get crap roads that feed to lights everywhere.

Prime example is the F3 at Wahroongah (part of the national road system) and a disgrace, dumping traffic directly onto the pacific hwy and pennant hills road. It's intersection like this that will hopefully benefit one day from more advanced road design. Australia suffers from very very poor road design - poor freeway design and almost no interchange design at all. I fail to to see how anyone could find a negative in the new M7 link stuff like this is years overdue for Australia.

The F3 problem is that it just ends. There's no equivalent road to receive the traffic that it lets off. Any interchange onto the Pacific Highway or PH Road would only move the jam to the next set of traffic lights. Building the F3-M2 tunnel will significantly aid this problem.

Yup I agree, but why the hell has it had to get so bad before it can be fixed? Peoples' acceptance of lights as opposed to the alternatives (and yes roundabouts suck too) just goes to show how shit our roads really are and just how many new roads are needed to aid congestion and stop/start traffic. Alot of our roads need alternatives. The F3 is just one example that proves our roads are a joke.

Harrah for stacked interchanges and motorways that actually connect! At last Sydney is joining its rather disjointed road system together.

- and our first actual full 4 way interchange! and 3 way for m5-m7. the only interchanges (freeway grade) i know are the "half trumpet interchange" south of the harbour bridge and "semi cloverleaf interchange" of cross city tunnel and eastern distrubutor.

This makes me furious!!!

Another expressway.It will fill up in 2 years and they will need another one.I dont like them but I have at times said to myself that we do need a basic freeway system covering the city.Once its in place we can forget about them for all time



Here is the artilce and pictures from todays Herald

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/08/12/interchange_wideweb__430x272.jpg

It soars 23 metres above the landscape, a formidable spaghetti-like jumble of roads at the pivotal junction on Australia's largest infrastructure project.

And soon a 55-metre steel tower will stand at the intersection, near the former site of Australia's Wonderland, to beam lights on the interchange, which is set to transform travel patterns in the city's west.

Over the past few months, the Light Horse Interchange, at Eastern Creek, has grown from a few concrete pylons with dangling wires to resemble a Los-Angeles-style road network, linking the M4 motorway with the Westlink M7, the electronic toll road which could be open as early as Easter.

But Light Horse is only one of 17 interchanges on the 40-kilometre motorway, which links the M5 near Prestons to the M4 at Eastern Creek and through to the M2 at Baulkham Hills - the ultimate cross-city link.

And, like almost all road projects built in Sydney in the past decade, it looks certain to be opened well ahead of schedule.

Most road transport attention in the past year has focused on the Cross City Tunnel, the 2.1-kilometre toll road connecting Rushcutters Bay to the Anzac Bridge. It will open in 15 days.

Advertisement
AdvertisementThe Westlink M7 has had less publicity, even though it is an equally prodigious engineering feat that will eventually see 782 separate bridge segments installed, each weighing between 40 and 100 tonnes.

Only 20 links remain to be fitted, and electronic tolling devices will soon be installed. Eighteen of the bridges are at Light Horse Interchange and the two main ones are enormous - the northbound link is 431 metres long, and the southbound 397 metres.

To support the superstructure, more than 2 million cubic metres of earth have been deposited around the bases of the pylons.

The light tower is designed to be visible to M4 motorists travelling more than two kilometres from the interchange, signalling the entrance to the city's first distance-based electronic road, where cars are tolled for the exact distance they travel.


THE SUPER ROAD

- Up to 48 sets of lights will be bypassed by the Westlink M7, spanning 40 kilometres from south-western Sydney to Baulkham Hills.

- More than 5000 square metres of retaining walls have been built along sections of the road.

- A separate 40-kilometre cycleway is being built along the route.

- Motorists will be electronically tolled.

Great interchange!
Sydney's motorway/freeway system (proposed/uc/completed) is pretty basic. Certainly not reminicent of cities in the US, but more akin to a large European city. After the ring is completed then there only remains the F3,F6,M4 connections, Bells Line of Road fwy/expwy and a possible airport-M4 link. I believe the M5 will need widening to 4-4 lanes and that the M7 will be widened to 3-3 within a decade after opening. The only reason that so many mwys have been opened in Sydney in the last decade is that there was no system before after 30 years of hardly any construction. In 1980 there were only 9kms of mwy/fwy in the urban area.

Ugly..

Merge to ---> http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=129317

Yeah, read this yesterday, although no special new news on the project, was nice to see the image.

Totally agree with Kiwikaas (hi dude :wave: ), Sydney's mwy sytem has had a lot of catching-up to do in the last decade, and is good to see this happening. As much as I personally prefer pt over private vehicle use (doesn't pretty much everyone here?) Sydney has needed additional mwy for a long time. Furthermore, and as mentioned by Kiwikaas in another thread, the Sydney (like other Australian cities) motorway network is far less developed than public-transport intensive European cities.

As for the interchange itself, looks nice, good to see at last, and for those who find it confusing, it is certainly not that.

Cheers

I've used Metroad 7 to get through Sydney and let me tell you this freeway would be a godsend.

Yeah, read this yesterday, although no special new news on the project, was nice to see the image.

Totally agree with Kiwikaas (hi dude :wave: ), Sydney's mwy sytem has had a lot of catching-up to do in the last decade, and is good to see this happening. As much as I personally prefer pt over private vehicle use (doesn't pretty much everyone here?) Sydney has needed additional mwy for a long time. Furthermore, and as mentioned by Kiwikaas in another thread, the Sydney (like other Australian cities) motorway network is far less developed than public-transport intensive European cities.

As for the interchange itself, looks nice, good to see at last, and for those who find it confusing, it is certainly not that.

Cheers

A European , PT intensive city

http://www.autosnelwegen.nl/asw/galerie/om52.jpg

Just down the road from here the road is 4-4-4-4

To see that picture go to This Link (http://www.autosnelwegen.nl/) Click on Foto-galerie up the top then go to "Snelweg en omgeving" scroll down to the last photo and you'll see a US style interchange at night.

I've used Metroad 7 to get through Sydney and let me tell you this freeway would be a godsend.

You'll still have to exit the M2 at Pennant Hills Road to get to the F3 though; we need that tunnel.

Well its been standard practice in Australia to not even bother with interchanges.

I think it is embarrassing that it has taken us this long for a spaghetti junction freeway interchange. We are so used to being dumped directly on arterial roads via lights this is a totally new concept hmm one the world found decades ago. What is wrong with Australia?
I agree. Melbourne has a few intersecting freeways, and a couple of examples includes a shitty half mixing bowl thing and one is a modified cloverleaf (which is not bad at all IMO). I think it's all cost cutting by our stupid idiot pollies. It's truly ridiculous how it has taken this long to get a stack up Melbourne and Sydney when virtually every other country is familiar with them. Melbourne could've had at least a couple by now on the Western ring road if it weren't for blind pollies trying to cut costs.

To see that picture go to This Link (http://www.autosnelwegen.nl/) Click on Foto-galerie up the top then go to "Snelweg en omgeving" scroll down to the last photo and you'll see a US style interchange at night.

Or do the same, click on A4/Foto-galerie, and then "knooppunten"- which means interchanges. There are some good pics on the link, and gives a good idea of the huge variety of interchanges in this country. Many "cloverleaf" interchanges, which over time may be replaced.

KIWIKAAS, I guess you're living somewhere around Voorburg near the A4, A13 and A14 interchanges?? The section of A4 between these two interchanges is very impressive!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/the-great-pyramid-of-sydney/2005/09/03/1125302782089.html
Great pyramid of Sydney
By Angela Cuming
September 4, 2005
The Sun-Herald

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/09/03/pyramid_wideweb__430x250.jpg
Drive like an Egyptian ... an artist's impression of the pyramid on the M7, which is expected to be finished in April.

A 25-metre high dirt pyramid will mark the Liverpool interchange of the Westlink M7.

Exclusive plans revealed by Roads Minister Joe Tripodi show how the grass-covered pyramid will become a landmark in Sydney's south-west.

The pyramid will be capped in a red peak and will be lit up at night by a blue light.

Compacted soil collected during construction of the M7 - which is being built under a joint venture between Abigroup and Leighton Holdings - will be used for the pyramid.

"The design is a world first, using about 100,000 tonnes of soil from the area," Mr Tripodi said.

"It will become a local landmark and a reference point for people travelling in western Sydney.

"We know people use the Crossroads as a guide but soon everyone will be using the pyramid instead.

"It will look spectacular all lit up at night."

The Westlink M7 is a 40-kilometre road that will link three motorways - the M5 at Prestons, the M4 at Eastern Creek and the M2 at Baulkham Hills.

The Eastern Creek interchange is a 23-metre high jumble of roads next to the old Wonderland site.

It has been named the Light Horse interchange in honour of the infantry brigade that trained at the site before going off to war.

A 55-metre light tower will rise through the middle of the interchange.

There will be about 2000 red bollards in among bands of green native plants in the median strips on the approach to the interchange, which is a nod to the regimental colours of the Light Horse Brigade.

Work on the M7 is ahead of schedule; it is expected to open next April.

The $1.5 billion motorway will have two lanes in each direction.

The lanes will be divided by a wide tract of land that has been left to accommodate future possible public transport routes.

The M7 will replace the Cumberland Highway as the National Highway route through Sydney.

"The Liverpool interchange is the junction of the motorways connecting Sydney with the Southern Highlands, Canberra and Victoria," Mr Tripodi said.

It will bypass 48 sets of traffic lights and a cycleway will run along the whole route.

Seventeen interchanges along the motorway will provide access to Liverpool, Fairfield, Blacktown and Baulkham Hills.

It would slash travel time from Liverpool to Pennant Hills to just 30 minutes, Mr Tripodi said.

There will be one catch to the motorway, though - the cost.

Drivers will have to cough up 29.25 cents per kilometre they travel, but the cost is capped after 20 kilometres.

wow awesome :D
i am so climbing up that thing!

wow awesome :D
i am so climbing up that thing!

Betcha it'll be inaccessible to the common schmo.

but it's just dirt :(
make the light cap inaccessible, but the hill would be nice to slide down :)

Confirmation of what we all already knew today. The M7 will open this year, months ahead of schedule.

M7 motorway races to the finishing line
By Alex Mitchell State Political Editor
October 9, 2005
The Sun-Herald

The new M7, a 40-kilometre motorway that cuts across western Sydney, will open to traffic before Christmas - eight months ahead of schedule.

The M7 announcement will be made today by Roads Minister Joe Tripodi, who has been in the hot seat answering critics of the controversial Cross City Tunnel.

The $1.5 billion Westlink M7 linking the M2 at Baulkham Hills, the M4 at Eastern Creek and the M5 at Prestons, near Liverpool, will be the latest addition to Sydney's no-cash, electronically tolled motorways.

Motorists will pay a distance-based toll with charges calculated on where they enter and exit the privately designed, constructed and operated roadway.

The tunnel will bypass 48 sets of traffic lights, saving motorists time and petrol and also provide an uninterrupted cycleway and walking path for cyclists and pedestrians for almost 40 kilometres from Prestons to Baulkham Hills.

-----------------

I wanna see the cost of the toll.

Westlink has announced it will provide $50 in free toll credits for travel on Westlink M7 to every customer that sets up an e-TAG account by 12 November, 2005, with Transurban’s new electronic tolling company, Roam.

“We are giving free toll credits to new and existing Roam e-TAG customers, so they can experience the benefits of traveling on Westlink M7. The new motorway means drivers can avoid 48 sets of traffic lights, saving time and petrol”, said Westlink M7 General Manager, Flan Cleary.

http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/Documents/News/$50_Free_Travel_on_Westlink_M7.pdf
------------------------

Now that's a clever marketing idea. Wish XCT had thought of that.

How much is it if I travel the entire length (ie to drive through Sydney from the Hume to the Pacific Hwy.

It will pay off for CCT tho wont it? By getting more people onto e-tags, on the trips into the city they do make, i bet theyd be more inclined to use the tunnel.

How much is it if I travel the entire length (ie to drive through Sydney from the Hume to the Pacific Hwy.

Almost 6 dollars. 6 Dollar is the cap rate.

Yeah, you pay the max. (currently $5.93) for any trip over 20km. 29.63 cents a kilometre under 20km. That's pretty reasonable for 40km IMO.

Better than 3.50 something bucks for 2km XCT.

on the other hand, the M7 cost ~$1.4 billion with ~$400 million of that Commonwealth funded (so $1 billion). The Cross City Tunnel cost $650 million. The tolls are quite proportionate with construction cost. The CCT toll could have been reduced, for instance, by extending the concession period (which brings in more toll revenue and reduces 'real' debt by inflation). The Eastern Distributor has an extended concession period to allow it's "low" toll (equiavlent of $2.25 each way)

Ugly..

What drugs are you on... it's one of the hottest things I have seen. I wish we had 50 of them... plus the roads to feed them... with maglev running down the median strip.

Gotta love the pyramid does that mean we can land ha'taks now? :colgate:

Wierd.

They're giving us a huge pile of sand and dirt with some pretty lights because they're to cheap to do a proper cleanup and we get all excited about it!

Well bugger them, we already have a Gold Coast.

:D

Great to see Sydney getting this road!

Now,lets see the M4 East and the F3 linking up with the M2!

Maybe we can bury Michael Costa in a tomb under the giant western Sydney pyramid... :lol:

Did anyone see the ad for the M7 tonight? (it was on ch 7 during Beyond Tomorrow) They used alphanumeric M7, M5, M4 and M2 symbols on the illustrative map. lol

I drive past this spaghetti junction on the way to uni, a lot of action going on right now to get it done by December. It looks like a lot of work still left to complete in such a short time.
Driving underneath all the fly-overs is an impressive sight.

Maybe we can bury Michael Costa in a tomb under the giant western Sydney pyramid... :lol:

YES!!!!

Great to see Sydney getting this road!

Now,lets see the M4 East and the F3 linking up with the M2!

Once this is done the governemt can stop thinking about tollways and start planning a mass transit system

Did anyone see the ad for the M7 tonight? (it was on ch 7 during Beyond Tomorrow) They used alphanumeric M7, M5, M4 and M2 symbols on the illustrative map. lol

They've run that commercial probably 100 times starting with Bathurst 1000 on Sunday.

5km Charity Walk

http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/images/5kmwalk_full.gif
The Westlink M7 Motorway will now open before Christmas 2005. To let people experience the Light Horse Interchange before it opens to traffic later in the year, a 5km Charity Walk through the Interchange will be held on Sunday 27th November 2005.

On the day, walkers will be encouraged to make a gold coin donation to the Westmead Hospital's Millennium Foundation and the Westmead Children’s Hospital.

The 5km Charity Walk will give the community an opportunity to inspect the bridge and roadworks that have taken place at Eastern Creek over the past 18 months. Information and pictorial displays will be prepared to present aspects of the Westlink M7, including its design and construction, the trades and professions involved, and the companies who took part. In addition to the focus on the Motorway, other displays will be presented by Councils and other local organistations that will highlight the diversity, amenities and opportunities available in the Western Sydney Region.

This website is being updated to allow people to pre-register for the Walk. Please check back to the website for more details and for pre-registration later this month (late October 2005).

that's an interesting walk, but it would have been better on the other two ramps - higher -> better view.

A reminder of the construction from Friday June 10 this year, scanned from the Sydney Morning Herald...

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/509/379westlinkm7.JPG

...and from the cover of the latest Leighton News Oct. 05. BTW Pardon the split roads...couldn't be helped as it was scanned and
put together in 2 sections ie from the front cover on the right and the back cover appearing on the left below:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/504/379westlinkM7pt2.JPGhttp://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/504/379westlinkM7pt1.JPG

....

Once this is done the governemt can stop thinking about tollways and start planning a mass transit system

hell yes! i think it would also be assisted if we stopped urban sprawl - also nice pic muse!

More on the Westlink M7, once again from Leighton News Oct '05...

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/504/379westlinkm7article1.JPG

continuing...

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/504/379WestlinkM71.JPG

...and M7 construction pic:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/504/379westlinkm7article3.JPG

.... :)

hell yes! i think it would also be assisted if we stopped urban sprawl - also nice pic muse!

100 percent agree.

We should of never sprawled the city further than its pre WW2 boundries.But it was basically impossible for planners back then to forsee the damage cars have made to our urban enviroment.Back then they were seen as a way to get out of the city and into the green and fresh air of the suburbs.

Suburbanisation started well before that. Towards the end of the 19th century, suburbanisation was seen as the key to urban reform away from urban ills and the Great Australian Dream of a detached dwelling on a large block of land became a reality after the advent of mechanised mass transit provided by the steam trams from 1881.

^^^^^^^

True.But it only followed the train lines and tram routes.I guess I ment to say that we should have never built suburbs away from the existing rail lines.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/504/379westlinkm7article3.JPG

.... :)

WOW! :uh:

It looks those construction you often see in Japan and Korea. They always paint their foundation in blue or red.

WOW! :uh:

It looks those construction you often see in Japan and Korea. They always paint their foundation in blue or red.

Well, maybe the falsework rather than foundations. ;)

As an aside, a set of e-toll boom gates like those in Muse's M7 scans have been contructed at the M2 toll plaza.

Lots of pics, maps & info including PDF files @ http://www.westlinkm7.com.au

story in today papera bout the war memorial near Light horse Interchange>
IS THIS ART OF HIGHWAY MENACE
The eycatching war memorial sculpture near sydneys most confusing interchange has become an unexpsected magnet for accidents.
Distracted motorists have been hitting each other while looking at the 1600 red poles which make up the tribute to heroic Lighthorse brigade.
the story continues. didnt scan it.
has anyone seen the red poles?

no, but the bizarro things on CityLink in Melbourne don't seem to be a major problem so I can't see why this is...

sydneys most confusing interchange

I know this has been brought up before but it's no more confusing than a set of traffic lights. You continue straight, or you take an off ramp to go left or right.
What do people think, that you must traverse every ramp and drive around in circles for a while to get from A to B?

I know this has been brought up before but it's no more confusing than a set of traffic lights. You continue straight, or you take an off ramp to go left or right.
What do people think, that you must traverse every ramp and drive around in circles for a while to get from A to B?


Yes but when you have numerous sydney drivers who don't even know how to use a round-about ....

i agree, MOST people dont know how to USE a roundabout. i really hate when the car infonrt actually STOPS at an empty roundabout. meanwhile your screaching on brakes about to collide! everyone has to realise the roundabout is for FLUID traffic flow.you simply slow down as approaching and you have right of way if no cars on coming. double lane roundabouts are friggin fun also.

I saw the start of them about a month ago.

They are just poles in the ground in the grass median strip, over 6 foot tall, at the time I had no idea of their purpose.

I noticed last weekend that there were some poles at the M5-M7 interchange too.

BTW - the 'pyramid' at the M5-M7 interchange has been capped with a red metal triangular 'point' to help retain its shape.

I also noticed that all the sign posts of the M7 have been added to it's approaches on the M5.


has anyone seen the red poles?

Opens 16th December, 12 days. You'd hope signage is pretty much complete.

story in today papera bout the war memorial near Light horse Interchange>
IS THIS ART OF HIGHWAY MENACE
The eycatching war memorial sculpture near sydneys most confusing interchange has become an unexpsected magnet for accidents.
Distracted motorists have been hitting each other while looking at the 1600 red poles which make up the tribute to heroic Lighthorse brigade.
the story continues. didnt scan it.
has anyone seen the red poles?Here is my shitty scan of it in full (including the accompanying article) from The Daily Telegraph, 03/12/05:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/509/379m7articlea.JPG
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/509/379m7articlec.JPG

The operators are offering 1 month toll-grace period. I wonder why? LOL

Here is a copy of an e-mail I just received:


Westlink M7 Opens 16 December

Westlink M7 Opens December 16

Westlink M7, the new $1.5 billion motorway in Sydney's west, will open on 16 December - eight months ahead of schedule.

The 40 kilometre Westlink M7 will link the M2 at Baulkham Hills, the M4 at Eastern Creek and M5 at Prestons.

It will bypass 48 sets of traffic lights and save motorists time and petrol.

The opening date announcement was made by Federal Roads Minister Jim Lloyd MP and Westlink M7 General Manager Flan Cleary.

"Westlink M7 is the largest single project in the Australian Government's AusLink National Land Transport Network. The Australian Government has provided $356 million towards construction, with the balance provided by Westlink Motorway Limited," Mr Lloyd said.

"Westlink M7 is the first AusLink Investment Program project to open in Australia. AusLink is the largest investment in land transport infrastructure in our nation's history and Westlink M7 provides an important model for major infrastructure projects under AusLink in the future as it drives national productivity and strengthens economic performance," he said.

"Westlink M7 demonstrates the scale, scope and vision of the $12.7 billion initial AusLink program."

Flan Cleary said "Westlink M7 will revolutionise the way people and freight move around western Sydney.

"It will link major new industrial parks and population nodes, creating jobs and urban renewal in a region where half of Sydney's population will be living by 2020.

"The Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board estimates that Westlink M7 will generate $3 billion in additional economic development and 24,000 new jobs in the next three years.

"Westlink M7 is already a magnet for economic development. Major companies like Woolworths, Coles, Coca Cola, TNT, Blue Scope Steel and LG Electronics are relocating to business and industrial parks along Westlink M7 to take advantage of being close to the motorway.

"Westlink M7 will connect the west and cut travel times around Sydney. Seventeen different access points will offer motorists direct connections to booming commercial hubs, local suburbs and popular recreational areas.

Mr Lloyd congratulated the thirteen thousand workers who delivered this project ahead of schedule and said the early opening of the M7 will provide motorists with an opportunity to use it during the Christmas holidays.

"This project is a tribute to all involved, and a great example of how the public and private sectors can work together to fast track the delivery of essential infrastructure," Mr Lloyd said.

"Opening before Christmas means people who normally endure 48 sets of traffic lights on the Cumberland Highway will get to their holiday destination sooner."

Westlink M7 is Australia's first distance-based fully electronic toll road - motorists will only pay for the distance they travel, making it cost-effective for short and long trips. Tolls will vary from 40c up to a cap of about $6.00.

Motorists will need an electronic tag or an electronic pass to use Westlink M7.

All tags will work on Westlink M7.

Motorists who do not already have a tag can take advantage of Westlink's offer of $50 worth of free M7 toll credits, which has been extended until 15 December. It means every customer who sets up a Roam e-TAG account before the M7 opens to traffic receives $50 worth of travel free on Westlink M7.*

To get a Roam e-TAG® device motorists can log-on to roam.com.au or call 13 TOLL (13 86 55).

Westlink M7 has been designed and constructed by the Abigroup Leighton Joint Venture. Westlink Motorway Limited Shareholders are Transurban (40 percent), Macquarie Infrastructure Group (40 Percent), Leighton Holdings and Contractors (10 percent) and Abigroup (10 percent).
The distance based tolling system has been developed by Transurban. The customer relationship management system has been developed and will be operated by Roam Tolling, a Transurban subsidiary.

If anything the wire fencing is a greater menace to people, especially motorcycle users. A friend of mine is a paramedic and he says the fences act as knives for motorcylists if they lose control or are hit by another vehicle.

As for the distraction - you should be travelling at 100km/h and looking where you are going.

wheres our $356 million of federal funding to fix the ipswich mwy. arseholes!

i wish brisbane would hurry up and build the western bypass similar to this project

I can't see the Federal government doing anything about the Ispwich Motorway other than 'studies'... :rant:

I can't see a Western Bypass happening in around Brisbane for some time. The current government would not want to risk losing more seats - the only way for it to occur would be to have all levels of govt + the opposition supporting it. (ie the voters have no choice :) )

why would you want a monument like that, which is quite interesting to look at in the middle of an interchange where people are to be concentrated driving. it's like a brothel every 1 km in pennant hills road

If anything the wire fencing is a greater menace to people, especially motorcycle users. A friend of mine is a paramedic and he says the fences act as knives for motorcylists if they lose control or are hit by another vehicle.


Yep, they certainly have that reputation. They're designed for cars, which make up the majority of motorway traffic. Running into them in a car is better than running into Jerseys or armcor.

i saw on the news this morning that johnny boy was opening the M7 this morning. when will traffic use it? id imagine this would be a culture change for west sydney not having to put up with your clogged roads!

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydneys-new-engineering-marvel-opens/2005/12/16/1134676433752.html

Sydney's new $1.5 billion Westlink M7 motorway has spawned an economic and employment boom, Premier Morris Iemma says.

Speaking at the official opening of the 40km toll road today, eight months ahead of schedule, Mr Iemma described the motorway as a engineering marvel that would cut travel times across western Sydney.

The M7 stretches from Prestons in the city's south-west to West Baulkham Hills in the north-west, linking the M2, M4 and M5 motorways.

"The 1,500 people who worked on the project can be proud of their part in this massive engineering achievement," the premier said.

Prime Minister John Howard, who opened the motorway, called it a prime example of what could be achieved when governments and the private sector work together.

"This is an opportunity for me to reaffirm my belief in the value of the public-private partnership," Mr Howard said.

"If we are to achieve all the goals we have in public work we need to have public-private partnerships.

"Nobody can do it on their own, we need the private sector."

Mr Howard said the federal government had contributed $356 million to the project and was pleased with the investment in the future growth of western Sydney.

Mr Iemma said the motorway would boost the local economy, generating more than 24,000 jobs in western Sydney within three years and an additional $3 billion in economic output.

"This will become a thriving industry hub bustling with factories, warehouses and job creating industry," he said.

"Companies like Coca-Cola, LG and Coles have already relocated or committed to relocating near the M7, creating hundreds of jobs in western Sydney."

Roads Minister Joe Tripodi said the M7 would take an estimated 60,000 vehicles a day, including 10,000 heavy vehicles, off the existing western Sydney road network.

"Motorists will be able to bypass 48 sets of traffic lights allowing a journey from south of Liverpool to Pennant Hills in less than 30 minutes," he said.

"Westlink M7 will also help centres outside Sydney, including the Hunter, central coast and Illawarra by improving access to these regions, creating new opportunities and reducing freight costs."

The M7 will be toll-free until January 16, with the motorway's owner today offering motorists $25 worth of credits for when tolls begins.

There is no doubt that this will be a true sucess. It won't be a white-elephant.

Just or more sucessful than the Eastern Distributor.

Traffic has started using the WestLink M7 since late this morning.

Just or more sucessful than the Eastern Distributor.

Eastern Distributor? The measure for success (for the consortium) of BOOT projects in this country is the M5. You build 20km of road, you charge $2.50 for it (originally), you suddenly get 80k vpd going through then the state govenment spends $800 million giving you an extra 30k vpd. Brilliant.

Now the Commonwealth government will widen the connecting road at the far end of your road and your hanging out for the inevitable 50/50 Cth/State funding for you to widen your road to 6 lanes thereby giving you more money

And you get to rake it in until 2022. Make that 2023 because you got bribed to build a new interchange with an extra year's concession.

Lighthorse interchange

http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/Freeways/M7/19.jpg

Whats this? A cycle lane on the motorway? ''Cross with care'' indeed!

http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/Freeways/M7/20.jpg

Split M5-M7 complete with pyramide

http://www.ozroads.com.au/NSW/Freeways/M7/31.jpg

i think we need to see a recent aerial pic of it completed, cause i dont think those photos do it much justice.

^^
Thats what you see if youre driving on it.
Those are photos driving down it completed. Thats the M7.

yeah i guess i expected to see more overpasses. And also im sure an aerial would be great, but i dont expect u 2 hire a helicopter lol.

Here's the video of the whole ride. The whole stretch of m7 motorway.

http://members.mpx.com.au/phokyang/properm7.avi
(9.4mb)

Use your imagination. The car goes at 100km/h.

lol nice video, can't help thinking how aggressive the driver is :P

so where does the pyramid fit into this? all i could recognise was lighthorse

i've seen aerials of the lighthorse interchange on channel 7 sunrise's traffic reports. its a pretty awesome sight, with cars zipping about in all different directions, and the long shadows being cast by the towering elevated roadways give it an excellent sense of depth and size.

yeah i guess i expected to see more overpasses. And also im sure an aerial would be great, but i dont expect u 2 hire a helicopter lol.

If youre driving down the M4 then you will get the full impact of Lighthorse. The M7 crosses at a higher level so it deminishes the effect somewhat.

A couple of photos of my own from a couple of weeks ago:
http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/2752/p10007904an.jpg

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/9110/p10007929kt.jpg

Nice pics sirhc8.

Here is a selection from http://www.westlinkm7.com.au

http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/Images/WestlinkGallery/Gallery15/14.jpg
http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/Images/WestlinkGallery/Gallery15/10.jpg
http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/Images/WestlinkGallery/Gallery15/13.jpg
http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/Images/WestlinkGallery/Gallery15/18.jpg

that last pic is nice

Yeah, the night pic is spectacular!

THE M4/M7 interchange
http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5080345,00.jpg

^^ ill have that over wonderland anyday! besides, the cost for getting on that ride is way cheaper than getting into wonderland ; )

Some shots of the pyramid at the M5-M7 Interchange at Casula.

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/5550/p22569085ep.jpg

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/3053/p22569098nx.jpg

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/562/p22569100ai.jpg

Is there any part of the westlind m7 that exceeds 4 by 4 in width or wider?

no, it's 2 by 2 lanes for it's entire length.

oh.................i see

Was a tad curious to know how business has been doing. According to WestLink M7 (http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/news-Detail.asp?NewsID=97); from a 1 page PDF document @ 35 million trips in first year of Westlink M7 (http://www.westlinkm7.com.au/Documents/News/MediaRelease_FirstAnniversary_151206.pdf)

15/12/2006

Some 35 million vehicle trips have been undertaken on the Westlink M7 motorway in the first 12 months of operations.

The first anniversary of the opening of the road to the public is this weekend (Saturday 16 December).