M8 Motorway (Sydney)

The M8 Motorway, previously known as New M5 during planning and construction, is an upcoming 9-kilometre-long (5.6 mi) tolled motorway in Sydney, Australia. It will link the M5 East at Kingsgrove to St Peters Interchange.[1] It consists predominantly of tunnels, including tunnel connections to the M4–M5 Link and the future M6 Motorway. Planned and constructed as part of the WestConnex, WestConnex tolls will be applied to the motorway.

M8 Motorway

New South Wales
General information
TypeMotorway  (Under construction)
Length9 km (5.6 mi)
Opened2020 (estimated)
Route number(s)
Major junctions
West end
 
East end
Highway system

Construction of the motorway began in July 2016 and is expected to complete in mid-2020. The motorway will eventually connect with the A8 in the Northern Beaches via the M4–M5 Link, Rozelle Interchange and Western Harbour Tunnel & Beaches Link.[2]

Route

From its western end at Kingsgrove, the route branches out 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 St Peters, with further connections towards the Eastern Suburbs via Euston Road and Gardeners Road, and towards Sydney Airport via the proposed Sydney Gateway.[1]

The M8 does not have any intermediate exits other than each end. However, tunnel connections to the future M6 Motorway towards Southern Sydney and Wollongong have already been built.[3]

St Peters Interchange

St Peters Interchange will be an interchange of five different roads, which are:

The Sydney Gateway and the M4–M5 Link are expected to be completed in 2023. However, bridges and tunnel entrances/exits to these roads have already been constructed.

The final bridge of the St Peters Interchange was put in place in October 2019.[4]

Exits and interchanges
LGALocationkm[1]miDestinationsNotes
Canterbury-BankstownKingsgrove00.0 M5 Motorway (west) – Liverpool, Campbelltown M8 Motorway western terminus;
Road continues as M5 Motorway
Tunnel western terminus
Georges RiverArncliffe63.7M6 Motorway (south) – Kogarah, Miranda, SutherlandProposed;
M6 Motorway northern terminus;
Northbound entrance and southbound exit only
Cooks River6.54.0Cooks River tunnel
Inner WestSt Peters95.6Tunnel eastern terminus and toll eastern terminus
Euston Road (north) – Alexandria, Waterloo, Randwick
Gardeners Road (east) – Mascot, Kingsford
Campbell Road (west) – Sydenham, Newtown
Campbell Road (east) – Alexandria, Mascot		St Peters Interchange;
M8 Motorway eastern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Toll
See also: WestConnex § Tolls

Motorists will be charged WestConnex distance-based tolls to use the twin tunnels. The toll charge consists of:

  • a flagfall - $1.37 for cars and motorcycles as of 2020
  • a charge per kilometre - $0.51 for cars and motorcycles per km as of 2020

At the time of opening, the toll for a car or motorcycle along the M8 will be $6.95.[5] 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.

History
See also: WestConnex

Plans to duplicate the M5 East were conceived during planning of the WestConnex project. The new road, known as New M5, would consist of separate tunnels parallel to the M5 East tunnels, and formed the main component of the second stage of WestConnex.

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. Therefore, environmental approval from the federal Minister for the Environment was also required before construction commenced.[1] Approval was granted on 11 July 2016 and construction commenced later that month.[6][7]

On 3 June 2020, M8 was revealed as the new name for the tunnels and the route designation.[2] The motorway is expected to open in the third quarter of 2020.

References
  1. "M8". WestConnex. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  2. "New driver animations - As work ramps up on New M5 Tunnels". 3 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  3. "F6 Extension Stage 1 - New M5 Motorway at Arncliffe to President Avenue at Kogarah" (PDF). Transport for NSW - Roads and Maritime. NSW Government. June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  4. "Final Piece in Place on New M5 Bridges". WestConnex. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  5. "Tolling on WestConnex". WestConnex. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  6. Hunt, Greg (11 July 2016). "Federal Government approves Stage 2 of WestConnex motorway" (PDF) (Press release). Department of the Environment. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2016.
  7. "Cooks River/Castlereagh Ironbark Forest of the Sydney Basin Bioregion". Department of the Environment and Energy. Archived from the original on 29 July 2016.
  • M8 - WestConnex
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