Metroad 5 (Sydney)

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Metroad 5 marker
Metroad 5 marker

Metroad 5 is a Metroad in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and a main arterial route linking Sydney's city centre to its south western suburbs and beyond. It links the Hume Highway to the Sydney airport where it joins Metroad 1.

Contents

[edit] Track

Metroad 5 starts from the Narellan Road interchange, Campbelltown, the one time southern extent of the South Western Freeway, and ends at General Holmes Drive (Metroad 1) near Sydney Airport, Mascot. Its entire length is now fully freeway standard. Metroad 5 plays an integral role in providing access between Sydney and Canberra without the use of traffic lights.

Metroad 5 is known as the Hume Highway until the Camden Valley Way interchange and thereafter South Western Motorway to King Georges Road, Beverly Hills, then M5 East Freeway to General Holmes Drive. It is more or less parallel with State Route 54 (Newbridge Rd, Milperra Rd and Canterbury Rd) until Kingsgrove. From Kingsgrove, the M5 passes underground in a 4km long tunnel, emerging briefly before again passing underground beneath the Cooks River, finally emerging above ground at General Holmes Drive (Metroad 1).

[edit] M5 South Western Motorway

While the entire route is referred to as the "M5", most people only refer to the motorway section as the "M5", continuing to refer to the remainder as the "F5" or as the Hume Highway. Confusion also arises from the different ownership of each section, especially as people incorrectly assume the M in M5 stands for "motorway" rather than "metroad". This often leads to unfounded complaints about the apparent "unfairness" of the tolling system, as users of the M5 East Freeway section do not pay a toll, yet the users of the South West Motorway section do. This follows standard nomenclature practice in New South Wales, that is, freeways are free, where as motorways are tolled and usually privately operated.

[edit] Route

[End National Highway 31/Start Metroad 5]

  • Narellan Road (Metroad 9), Campbelltown/Mt Annan
  • Campbelltown Road (SR 56), Eagle Vale (Northbound entry/Southbound exit only)
  • Campbelltown Road (SR 56), Ingleburn (Northbound exit/Southbound entry only) (Completed 2006)
  • Brooks Road, Denham Court (Northbound entry/Southbound exit only)
  • Hume Highway, Cross Roads (Southbound entry only)

Start of the South Western Motorway

Toll Plaza, Hammondville

End of South Western Motorway

Start of M5 East Freeway

  • Kingsgrove Road, Kingsgrove (Eastbound entry/Westbound exit only)
  • Bexley Road, Earlwood (Eastbound exit/Westbound entry only)

Start of Main Tunnel

End Main Tunnel
Start of Cooks River Tunnel

[End Metroad 5, joins Metroad 1 to city and north coast via Eastern Distributor.]

[edit] See also