M2 Hills Motorway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The M2 Hills Motorway (also known as the Hills M2 Motorway, M2 Motorway or simply M2) is a dual 2-lane carriageway motorway in north-western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It forms part of Sydney Metroad 2 and the Sydney Orbital Motorway network. West of Pennant Hills Road, the M2 is also part of the National Highway.
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[edit] History and development
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| M2 Hills Motorway | |
| Length | 21 km |
| Direction | East–west |
| Start | Epping Rd, North Ryde |
| Primary destinations | Inner western Sydney suburbs |
| End | Westlink M7/Seven Hills |
| Construction dates | 1995 - 26 May 1997 |
| Major junctions | Metroad 2, Metroad 3, Metroad 6, Metroad 7, Westlink M7 |
| Owner | Transurban Limited |
| Operator | Hills Motorway Limited |
Previously, Sydney's western suburbs were poorly served. Traffic passed through Parramatta and to the city centre via Victoria Road and Western Freeway. Although Parramatta was completely bypassed in the 1980s, peak hour traffic still clogs up Victoria Road and all western approaches to Sydney.
The M2 Hills Motorway was developed to connect Old Windsor Road, Seven Hills to Epping Road, North Ryde, and thus bypass the busy inner western suburbs. In turn, Epping Road connects with Gore Hill Freeway at Artarmon which leads to the Harbour Bridge and the CBD.
Historically, however, the M2 Motorway was known as the F2 Freeway (or North West Freeway) before its construction. As part of the integrated freeway plans drawn up for Sydney in the 1950s, the F2 was originally planned to link to the Gladesville Bridge and then on to Anzac Bridge via a new set of elevated freeways behind Drummoyne, the land for which was sold by the Wran Labor Government in the 1980s. This explains the freeway-style grade of road from Gladesville Bridge to Hunters Hill, and the green belt north up to the seemingly arbitrary city-end of the M2. (The Gore Hill Freeway and Lane Cove Tunnel were not parts of this original plan, and the "F1" Warringah Freeway was designed to be a link to the Northern Beaches, via Roseville Bridge, and not to the Hills district). Evidence of the F2's original alignment can be found on old street directories, where the Western Distributor (which connects Anzac Bridge to the city) is labelled 'North-West Freeway'.
The M2 Hills Motorway is a privately funded capital works. The NSW Government entered into an agreement with Hills Motorway Limited to build, own, operate and, ultimately, transfer the M2 back to the Government at the end of a 45 year term.
The M2 Hills Motorway pioneered the use of electronic tolling in Australia when it opened on 26 May 1997.
The M2 Lane Cove Tunnel currently under construction (as at 2004) will bypass Epping Road, directly linking the Hills Motorway to the Gore Hill Freeway.
The Westlink M7, which opened on 16 December 2005 links the Hills Motorway (at Seven Hills) to the M5 South Western Motorway at Prestons.
[edit] Route of the M2
The M2 Hills Motorway starts on Epping Road at the Lane Cove River in North Ryde and heads North West through Macquarie Park to Epping, then West through Beecroft, Carlingford then South West through Baulkham Hills and Winston Hills to Abbott Road at Seven Hills.
[edit] Planned new link
A freeway standard Sydney Bypass has been intended as part of the National Highway system for decades. It is now planned that a new tunnelled route will be built to connect from the M2 Motorway near the Pennant Hills Road interchange to the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway north of Pearce's Corner, Wahroonga.
[edit] Benefits
The M2 has allowed many residents of the North-West sector of Sydney easy transport to the Sydney CBD, which may have been one of the factors to the increase of land values in that area and the construction of the Norwest Business Park.
[edit] Disadvantages
Because a lot of the Hills district relies on the Hills Motorway for daily transport to and from the city, major traffic jams occur daily on the M2 during the peak hours. This vast number of vehicles also creates a large amount of air pollution and noise.
[edit] Toll payments
Tolls are charged on the basis of vehicles being either Class 2 (which includes most private vehicles) or Class 4 (vehicles with two axles and are over 2.8 metres high, or vehicles with three axles which are over 2 metres high, or vehicles with more than three axles).
The M2 supports the following toll methods:
- Cash payment (manual or automatic)
- Electronic tolling, otherwise known as an E-Tag
The toll for the full journey for class 2 vehicles increased by 60 cents from $3.80 to $4.40 on 1 October 2006[1] .
[edit] References
- ^ Car toll increase. Transurban. Retrieved on 2006-08-26.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
E-Toll vendors
- EXPRESS Tag (Tollaust)
- E-Toll (RTA)
- E-Way (Interlink)
- e-Tag (Transurban)
- E-Toll (Queensland Motorways)
| Major road infrastructure in Sydney | |
|---|---|
| Motorways | Cross City Motorway | Eastern Distributor | Lane Cove Tunnel | M2 Hills Motorway | M4 Western Motorway | M5 South Western Motorway | Westlink M7 |
| Freeways | Southen Cross Drive | Southern Freeway | Sydney-Newcastle Freeway | Warringah Freeway | Gore Hill Freeway |
| Metroads | Metroad 1 | Metroad 2 | Metroad 3 | Metroad 4 | Metroad 5 | Metroad 6 | Metroad 7 | Metroad 9 | Metroad 10 |
| Bridges & Tunnels | Sydney Harbour Bridge | Sydney Harbour Tunnel | Anzac Bridge | Gladesville Bridge | Fig Tree Bridge | Tarban Creek Bridge |
| Conceptual Plans | Sydney Orbital Motorway | Sydney Bypasses (past, present and proposed) |
| Categories | Category: Streets in Sydney | Category: Sydney highways |
| Other | M4 East (proposed) | Marrickville Tunnel (proposed) | North Western Expressway (abandoned) |
| Operators | Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales | Connector Motorways | State Wide Roads | Transurban |
| Transport in Sydney | [edit] | |
