Sydney Orbital Network

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Sydney Orbital Network

Sydney-orbital-black-line.png
Map of the Sydney Orbital Network
General information
Type Freeway
Location Sydney
Length110 km (68 mi)
OpenedCompleted 2007
Route number(s) AUS Alphanumeric Route M1.svgAUS Alphanumeric Route M2.svgAUS Alphanumeric Route M5.svgAUS Alphanumeric Route M7.svg
Major junctions
Highway system

The Sydney Orbital Network is a 110 kilometre [1] motorway standard ring road around and through Sydney, the capital of New South Wales in Australia. It runs north from Sydney Airport, underneath the CBD to the North Shore, west to the Hills District, south to Prestons and then east to connect with the airport. Much of the road is privately owned and financed by tolls.

Contents

General Holmes Drive, looking south-west from the Sydney Airport overpass. It is part of the M1 and Orbital Road. General Holmes Drive from aircraft window.jpg
General Holmes Drive, looking south-west from the Sydney Airport overpass. It is part of the M1 and Orbital Road.

History

Planning for this beltway, orbital or ring road began as early as 1962 under the "County of Cumberland scheme" (CCS) and was talked about as far back as 1944. Then, from 1973 to 1989, things started to take shape with new sections opening-up and then further advancing by 1999. In 2007, the Lane Cove Tunnel opened, completing the orbital network.

Motorways that make up the orbital road

The 110 km Sydney orbital consists of several motorways and freeways, they are listed below:

The major sunken/underground sections of the orbital are:

The major elevated sections are:

Tolling

The Sydney Orbital Road Network consists of a number of roads built by private companies: tolling is mostly unavoidable when using the road network. A $6.95 toll was added to the M5 East motorway from King Georges Road to Marsh Street on the 5th of July 2020, [2] to coincide with the opening of the M8 tunnel.

RoadDirectionOpenedToll Collection MethodToll PricingPriceOperator
Eastern DistributorNorthbound1999ElectronicFlat rate$7.23 Transurban
M5 South Western MotorwayBoth1992ElectronicFlat rate$4.65Interlink Roads
M5 East MotorwayBoth2001ElectronicFlat rate$6.95WCX M5 PT Pty Ltd [3]
Westlink M7Both2005ElectronicDistance based$0.3996/km - capped at $7.99NorthWestern Roads Group (NWRG)
M2 Hills MotorwayBoth1997ElectronicEach direction/ Fixed$7.16 (North Ryde)
$3.58 (Pennant Hills Road)
$2.53 (Windsor Road)
$2.12 (Lane Cove Road)
$3.58 (Herring & Christie Roads)
Transurban
Lane Cove TunnelBoth2007ElectronicFlat rate$3.27 Transurban
Sydney Harbour TunnelSouthbound1992ElectronicTime basedWeekdays $3.00 (9.30am - 4pm) $4 (6.30am - 9.30am, 4pm - 7pm) $2.50 (7pm - 6.30am); Weekends $3 (8am - 8pm) $2.50 (8pm - 8am) Transport for NSW

Intercity highways are linked to the Orbital, moving traffic away from the old busy National Routes. They are:

See also

Australia road sign W5-29.svg Australian roadsportal

References

  1. RTA Website Motorways and tolling
  2. "Tolling | Westconnex" . Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. "Tolling | Westconnex" . Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. "F6 Extension - Stage 1". Roads & Maritime Services . Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  5. "Sydney's south on the move with the new M6". NSW Government. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.