Warringah Freeway

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Warringah Freeway
Length	4 km
Direction	North–south
Start	Sydney Harbour Bridge, North Sydney
Primary destinations	Northern Sydney
End	Gore Hill Freeway, Naremburn
Construction dates	1966 - 1968
Major junctions	Metroad 1, Metroad 2
Owner	Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), State Wide Roads (SWR)
Operator	SWR Operations Pty Limited, RTA

The Warringah Freeway looking south at its widest point - 16 lanes

View of the Warringah Freeway looking north, over the inner western carriageway. This picture was taken during the morning rush hour

View of the Warringah Freeway looking north, towards the Military Road overpass

Southern terminus of the Warringah Freeway at its junction with the Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Warringah Freeway (also known as the Warringah Expressway and the M1/M2) is a major road in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The freeway links the northern ends of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel to the Gore Hill Freeway. The road provides access to suburbs on Sydney's lower North Shore and is a major route to the north and northwest of the metropolis.

[edit] History

Planning began in 1951. The first stage of the road opened on June 18, 1968. As its name suggests, the road was envisioned as the first stage of a freeway system for Sydney's Manly/Warringah area, however the road was never extended in this direction, partly due to the anticipated costs and perceived community opposition. An early alignment had the freeway crossing into the Manly Warringah area via Castlecrag, then later via Castle Cove.

A large amount of residential and commercial property, half a golf course, and a cemetery were resumed by the government to build this freeway. A land resumption on this scale so close to a large city such as Sydney, would be impossible today. The cost of the land this freeway sits on would exceed the yearly government budget for the entire city, not to mention the community outcry.

The freeway originally featured a 3x2x2x3 arrangement with the inner two carriageways both running in the same direction during the rush hour. The changeover process was slow both on the freeway and the Harbour Bridge, with large numbers of red plastic 'candle sticks' or 'candy bars' being manually moved four times every weekday. The original north termination point of the freeway was Chandos St Cammeray, with a small extension being added to Willoughby road in 1978. The Chandos Street ramps were moved to Brook St at this time.

It was not until 1992 when the Gore Hill Freeway was added to connect the Warringah Freeway to the Pacific Highway, that the road officially became part of Australia's Highway 1. Until then, it had been a short freeway that terminated curiously in the middle of the suburbs, despite being Sydney's most prominent freeway, the "F1", with 16 lanes connecting to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

[edit] Current Conditions

Only the inner west carriageway is now reversed, with the inner east carriageway feeding the tunnel southbound. All carriageways were widened by utilizing the breakdown lane space, and remarking the existing lanes. After the North Sydney northbound onramp, there are 16 lanes across the whole corridor for a short distance, becoming 10 lanes before the Brook Street exit, and then 4 after the Willoughby road exit. This feeds onto the Gore Hill freeway, completed in 1992.

The arrangement is now mostly 4x3x3x3 through the section with the switchable carriageway, with variations in the width of the outer carriageways as ramps enter and exit the freeway. As of 2006 major changes to the Military road overpass are occurring, with an extra three ramps being added, and two extra lanes on the connecting Gore Hill freeway at the northern end (part of the Lane Cove Tunnel project). The overpass where these five ramps originate is also being widened in an attempt to channel all the traffic.

The first of the new Military Rd ramps opened in June 2006. Most northbound traffic now has to exit from the right of the six northbound outer carriageway lanes, instead of the left. ^[1] The previous exit ramp (for a right turn into Military Road) previously had three general lanes and one bus lane. There are now no general lanes, and two bus lanes. Traffic turning left into Military Rd still uses the old ramp. The stated reason for this change is to remove all the traffic which enters the freeway at North Sydney, then exits again at Military Rd, adding to rush hours delays.

The carriageway change over process was automated around 1990, with moveable barriers and overhead signage directing traffic onto the correct lanes. The changeover occurs when the Harbour Bridge needs either 5 or 6 lanes southbound (the default is 4 each way). There is only ever a maximum of 5 lanes northbound off the bridge, with the extra lane feeding into a spare lane on the inner west carriageway. Changeover times are around 06:30 and 09:00 Monday to Friday.

A 24 hour Bus Lane (buses, taxi cabs & hire cars) was added after the Sydney Harbour Tunnel opened in 1992. It runs southbound on the outer carriageway and across the Harbour Bridge. This has proven to be a major success, carrying more persons in the morning rush hour than all other southbound lanes combined.

Almost all entry and exit ramps on the freeway are controlled by traffic signals. Most of the ramps are of sufficient length to avoid any delays to through traffic, with the exception of Military road. The arrangement for accessing the Harbour bridge (For City and west access) south bound can be confusing for anyone unfamiliar with the road, with a choice of either competing with traffic waiting at the Harbour Tunnel toll booths via the inner eastern carriageway, or having to cross the Bus Lane. This problem will be alleviated somewhat when the promised removal of the Harbour Tunnel toll booths is completed, allowing only electronic toll enabled traffic to access the tunnel southbound at freeway speeds.

[edit] Original Blueprint of the Warringah Freeway

Following the opening on the first section of this freeway in 1968, there were plans for 6 further stages to be constructed to the north.

• Stage 1 - Willoughby Road extension, and a tunnel under the North Shore Line. Planned completion 1973. Willoughby road extension completed 1978. Tunnel under the railway completed 1992 as part of the Gore Hill Freeway.
• Stage 2 - Northbridge to Castlecrag, and Wakehurst Parkway link. Planned completion 1974. Never built.
• Stage 3 - Bridge over Middle harbour between east Castlecrag and Seaforth. Planned completion 1974. Never built.
• Stage 4 - Seaforth to Balgowlah spur link. Planned completion 1974. Never built.
• Stage 5 - Upgrade of Wakehurst Parkway to freeway conditions to Warringah rd. Spur link to Manly Vale. Planned completion 1977. Partially completed (Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation) 1985.
• Stage 6 - Willoughby Road to Pacific Highway/Epping road junction. Planned completion 1980. Completed 1992 as the Gore Hill Freeway.

Various proposals over the years have been made to complete the Warringah Freeway to the area of its name. One proposal from the state opposition government was a six lane tunnel starting at the Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation in Balgowlah, joining the Gore Hill Freeway. ^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• RTA Live Traffic Camera
• Late 1960's planned freeway extensions
• Lane Cove Tunnel Project

Motorways near the Harbour Bridge

M1 Cahill Expressway, M2 Bradfield Highway, M1 Sydney Harbour Tunnel, M1/M2 F1 Warringah Freeway, M1/M2 Gore Hill Freeway and M4 Western Distributor.