M4 Western Motorway
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| M4 Western Motorway | |
| Length | 46 km |
| Direction | East–west |
| Start | Parramatta Rd, North Strathfield |
| Primary destinations | Western Sydney |
| End | Great Western Highway, Glenbrook |
| Construction dates | 1970s - 1993 |
| Major junctions | Metroad 3, Metroad 4, Metroad 6, Westlink M7, Metroad 9 |
| Owner | Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), State Wide Roads (SWR) |
| Operator | SWR Operations Pty Limited, RTA |
The M4 Western Motorway (also known as the M4 Motorway or simply M4) is a motorway in central Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It forms part of Sydney Metroad 4.
The Western Motorway is a partially-tolled motorway, with a toll plaza near Silverwater. It is only necessary to pay a toll if travelling on the motorway between James Ruse Drive and Silverwater Road, and it is possible to use many sections of the motorway without paying the toll.
The Motorway is mostly 6 lanes wide, and carries constant heavy traffic during daylight hours, seven days a week. Built as a four lane freeway, it was widened to six lanes during the 1990's, but this did little to ease the congestion. Widening the motorway any further would probably not help, as without the M4 East, (see below) the congestion would just move further east, where everything is dumped onto surface streets at Strathfield.
Originally planned in the mid 1950's to start in the CBD, the eastern section was only built as far west as Pyrmont. That section is now part of the western distributor. All land reserved for the (then) freeway between Pyrmont and the current eastern termination point at Strathfield, was sold off or declassified as a freeway corridor in 1977 by the state Government. (The road ran through the seat held by the Premier Mr Wran) This area now suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion imaginable, with many substandard surface roads and back streets, carrying enormous amounts of commuter and heavy traffic right through the day.
[edit] M4 East
A major extension to the M4 has been proposed and has well-advanced plans. This extension would extend the M4 beyond its current end in Strathfield by approximately 5 kilometers, so that it would subsequently end in Ashfield and be continuous with the City West Link. Further planned upgrades to the City West Link would mean commuters going west out of the city could get to Parramatta without passing through traffic lights.
As of April 2005, the NSW state government has shelved plans for the M4 East extension, citing the need for an integrated plan for transport, but possibly to mitigate residents in affected suburbs which would have been affected by increased traffic had the M4 East link been approved. Future plans may include instead a continuous traffic-light-free link from the city's Western Distributor to the current end of the M4.
The lack of this link is currently causing major problems for any commercial traffic wishing to travel between Port Botany and the many factories and warehouses in the western suburbs. The M5 South Western Motorway does connect directly to Port Botany, but it has chronic congestion problems of its own, and doesn't provide easy access to inner western areas of Sydney. There is so much demand for this link, that traffic not only uses the designated Metroad 4 (Parramatta Road), but also several back streets to the north and south, most of which are 2 lane residential streets.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- RTA web page on the M4 East extension.
- The M4 motorway - a history and exit guide.
- Web Cam(M4-Prospect)
- Web Cam(M4-St marys)
- Web Cam(M4-Olympic Park)
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| 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 | [edit] |
